Sears or Playboy May
Get Gay CEO

Procter & Gamble top boss Susan Arnold announced her departure from the company on Monday, March 9, putting her in the running for several Fortune 500 CEO positions. She is poised to become the first openly gay CEO of a major U.S. public company, TheWall StreetJournal reported.

Currently Procter & Gamble's top female officer, Arnold will step down from her position and serve in a special assignment until September. Having previously served as president of P&G's global business units, she assumed global responsibility for P&G's personal beauty business in 1999. She was the first woman to reach a president-level position in the company.

Arnold also serves as a board member for the Walt Disney Company, McDonald's, Catalyst, and Save the Children.

As of 2008, Arnold was ranked number 7 in Fortune 500's 50 most powerful women (just ahead of Oprah), and was named one of Wall Street Journal 's 50 Women to Watch in 2004 and 2005.

She is expected to draw interest from consumer-oriented companies currently seeking CEOs, including Sears Holdings Corp. and Playboy, according to the Journal .