New Most Powerful Female CEO Is Anointed : Executives: Magazine’s annual rankings show Loida Lewis of TLC Beatrice has assumed the mantle.

Loida Lewis, a lawyer who assumed control of the nation’s largest black-owned business a year after husband-founder Reginald Lewis died, is the most powerful female CEO in America, according to Working Woman.

The magazine’s May issue, distributed Monday, ranks her No. 1 in its fourth annual list of the Top 50 female business owners. TLC Beatrice’s annual revenue totaled $1.82 billion in 1994, the biggest of any female-run company.

Reginald Lewis led a $985-million, debt-financed takeover to form TLC Beatrice in 1987, and his Philippine-born wife was his closest confidante and adviser. The food processor and distributor, which operates primarily in Europe, flourished until his death from cancer in 1993.

After that, TLC Beatrice foundered from a combination of European recession, management uncertainty and a minority stockholder revolt.

Loida Lewis took control in early 1994 with the Lewis family’s support. She sold under-performing units, strengthened management, refinanced expensive debt and mollified dissident shareholders with a plan to let them sell their stock.

“My first year was spent putting out fires,” Lewis, 52, told Working Woman in its cover story. “Now I’m ready to do business.”

This is the first time a newcomer has topped the list.

No. 2 is Joyce Raley Teel, co-chair of Raley’s grocery chain in California, with sales of $1.8 billion. No. 3 is Lynda Resnick, co-chair of Roll International, a mail-order marketing conglomerate with sales of $1.4 billion.

Fourth is Marian Ilitch, co-founder of the Little Caesar’s pizza chain, which had 1994 sales of $1 billion.

The list, compiled in conjunction with the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, also illustrates the rapid growth of female-run businesses nationwide. It includes five agribusinesses, four computer-retail service companies, nine industrial companies, three grocery chains and 11 clothing companies. The 50 companies together had sales of $17.9 billion in 1994, up nearly 10% from $16.3 billion a year earlier.

Revenue wasn’t the only qualifying factor for making make the list. At private companies, the woman must own at least 20% of the stock; at public companies, at least 10%. She must also be involved in day-to-day management and have a title of chief operating officer or higher.

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The Working Woman List

Working Woman magazine’s 1995 list of Top 10 female business owners:

Name Title Company Loida N. Lewis chair & CEO TLC Beatrice Joyce Raley Teel co-chair Raley’s Lynda Resnick co-chair Roll International Marian Ilitch co-founder Little Caesar’s Antonia Anson Johnson chair Axel Johnson Liz Minyard and Gretchen Minyard Williams co-chairs Minyard Food Stores Linda Wachner chair, CEO Warnaco Donna Karan CEO Donna Karan Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt chair & CEO Jockey International Helen Copley chair & CEO Copley Press

Name 1994 Revenue Loida N. Lewis $1.82 billion Joyce Raley Teel $1.80 billion Lynda Resnick $1.40 billion Marian Ilitch $1.00 billion Antonia Anson Johnson $815 million. Liz Minyard and Gretchen Minyard Williams $800 million. Linda Wachner $789 million. Donna Karan $465 million. Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt $450 million. Helen Copley $380 million.