Before she took the helm at UPS, Carol B. Tomé had retired. She was confident she had done all she needed to after an 18-year tenure as CFO at The Home Depot, where she helped scale the business from 400 to 2,200 stores and nearly $100 billion in annual revenue. Then the pandemic hit.
UPS needed a steady, experienced leader. At age 63, Carol returned to the boardroom as CEO of the $135 billion logistics giant. In that moment, her leadership became a global lifeline.
Her story is not just about logistics or corporate strategy. It is about answering a crisis call, trusting decades of experience, and leading with heart and precision in a world on the brink.
From Wyoming Wilderness to Corporate Heights
Carol B. Tomé was born in Jackson, Wyoming in January 1957, as Carol Louise Buchenroth. Raised hunting, fishing, and sewing her own clothes, she learned from a young age resilience, self-reliance, and discipline. These were attributes that served her in business as well as in the outdoors.
Her father was a community banker, and Carol lent in her early days at the same bank in Denver. She went on to leadership roles at Johns-Manville and Riverwood International before The Home Depot recruited her in 1995 to lead its expansion into Mexico. By 2001, she was CFO. During her tenure, Home Depot not only weathered the 2008 financial crisis but also saw its share price rise over 450 percent and revenue approach $100 billion.
In 2019, she walked away to retire. Family, ranch, board work, philanthropy, and hobbies awaited. She thought her story had ended.
A Crisis Called and a Leader Stepped In
In early 2020, just before the COVID-19 escalation, UPS’s board called Carol to become CEO. She didn’t think twice.
As global supply systems buckled under the pandemic, UPS became a lifeline for vaccine shipments and critical medical goods. Under her leadership, the company managed to deliver over 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses globally with 99.9 percent effectiveness across 110 countries.
UPS didn’t just rely on traditional logistics. It deployed drone delivery through its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary, the first FAA-certified Part 135 drone airline in the United States. This was done in partnership with Matternet and later Wingcopter to reach remote clinics quickly and safely. One pioneering program delivered COVID-19 vaccines via drones in North Carolina for Atrium Health, using temperature-controlled packaging to maintain 2–8°C throughout transit.
Carol acknowledged the limitations. “You can’t fly them when it’s windy. You can’t fly them when it’s rainy,” she said, highlighting the challenges ahead for drone tech.
To meet the surge in demand, UPS hired 40,000 people in 2020. Most were part-time. Carol spearheaded investments in digital tracking, cold-chain dry-ice production, control-tower monitoring, and automation to support healthcare logistics at scale.
Reinvention Beyond the Emergency
After the pandemic peak, Carol shifted focus toward long-term transformation. She introduced family-friendly policies including expanded childcare benefits and rolled out a renewed People-Led Innovation-Driven strategy. This approach was unique in logistics at her scale.
She also faced headwinds. Shipping volumes fell post-pandemic and labor unions pressed harder. Carol confronted these challenges directly, emphasizing trust, transparency, and long-range planning instead of quick fixes.
She often said she led with “hearts and smarts.” This meant balancing data-driven choices with empathy and clear accountability.
"Put your people first, put your people first. Because without your people, you can't do what you need to do.”
In parallel, Carol accelerated UPS's commitment to sustainability. She advanced efforts to electrify the delivery fleet, expanded alternative fuel initiatives, and invested in energy-efficient operations. These changes aligned with a broader goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Her leadership during this period was steady, focused, and deeply intentional. Rather than chase short-term wins, she prioritized building a more resilient company. She also made sure employees across the organization understood the purpose behind each shift, helping foster alignment through times of change.
Where She Is Today
Now in her late 60s, Carol continues to guide UPS through digital transformation, alternative fuel investments, and ambitious sustainability goals. These efforts aim to reduce the company’s more than 35 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2025, she was ranked number one in Supply Chain Digital’s Top 100 Supply Chain Leaders list. She also delivered the commencement address to Oglethorpe University’s Class of 2025, where she inspired a new generation of leaders.
Carol serves on several boards, including Verizon Communications, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and The Business Council. She and her husband also direct the Tomé Foundation, which supports education access and scholarships. They have donated over $1 million to the University of Wyoming to fund underprivileged students.
She has appeared multiple times on Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list and Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business. In 2024, she was inducted as a Georgia Trustee, one of the state’s highest honors for civic leadership.
Five Leadership Lessons from Carol Tomé
1. Answer the call, no matter your stage in life.
Carol was retired when global need demanded her. She didn’t hesitate.
2. Draw from foundational roots.
Her upbringing in Wyoming instilled discipline, adaptability, and humility.
3. Build before you pivot.
She forged durable operational strength and acted decisively when the crisis came.
4. Lead with hearts and smarts.
She marries empathy with data and puts people at the center of every solution.
5. Age is no barrier.
A near-70-year-old CEO running a $135 billion global company challenges everything we assume about leadership and timing.
Jenny’s Takeaway
In a world obsessed with youth, disruption, and startups, Carol Tomé offers a different kind of legend. Her legacy is grounded in wisdom, resilience, and long-term vision.
She didn’t just run a company. She delivered hope to hundreds of millions through the toughest logistics challenge of the century. She proved that leadership deepens with time. Her story challenges our assumptions about age, gender, and who gets to lead.
That’s the kind of leadership that reshapes what’s possible—for business, for communities, and for the future.