Good morning. This year, the Fortune Most Powerful Women Asia list recognizes 100 leaders who are leveraging regional and global volatility for business advantage.
Asia’s most powerful woman in business this year is DBS CEO Tan Su Shan, who assumed leadership at Southeast Asia’s largest bank in March. Since taking the helm, she has navigated revived trade tensions and the resurgence of alternative financial products, including cryptocurrencies.
Chosen by Fortune editors for their measurable impact, strategy reach, and capacity to shape the future, MPW Asia 2025 includes founders, CEOs, and other C-suite leaders whose influence crosses borders and industries.
Executives from the finance and tech sectors top the list. Meet the nine CFOs Fortune editors selected for this year’s list:
—Meng Wanzhou (Sabrina Meng), Deputy Chairwoman, Rotating Chairwoman, CFO, Huawei
Meng Wanzhou, daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, is chipmaker Huawei’s CFO and, alongside deputy chair Eric Xu, one of its rotating chairs. Meng is now back in the chair’s role in a six-month term that expires in March. Huawei is now part of China’s chip plans. Nvidia considers Huawei a “strategic competitor.” Huawei reported $118 billion in revenue for 2024, close to its 2020 record.
—Z. Julie Gao, CFO, ByteDance, Hong Kong
As ByteDance hashes out a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., CFO Julie Gao is keeping an eye on the Chinese startup’s monster finances and corporate structure. The company is already building up its business outside the U.S., expanding its e-commerce and social media offerings across Asia, Latin America, and Europe. ByteDance is one of the planet’s most valuable startups, with a recent employee share buyback reportedly valuing the company at $330 billion.
—Png Chin Yee, CFO, Temasek, Singapore
For its most recent full financial year, which ended March 2024, Temasek increased its net portfolio value to $301 billion. Png Chin Yee, Temasek’s chief financial officer, is set to expand her role as Singapore’s massive state investment company undergoes an ambitious restructuring. Starting next April, Png will also look after Temasek’s portfolio of Singaporean companies, like DBS, Singapore Airlines, and Singtel.
—Lin Tao, CFO and Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Group, Japan
In March, Lin Tao made history as Sony’s first female CFO, managing the global entertainment giant’s finance, strategy, corporate planning and investor relations. She joined Sony in 2000 and advanced through roles in its PlayStation and smartphone divisions, eventually becoming VP of finance and strategy at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony’s gaming division, in 2021.
—Fu Xin, Executive Director, SVP and CFO, Ping An, China
Fu Xin became CFO of Ping An Insurance in March 2025, after previous roles as COO and deputy CFO. She joined Ping An in 2017 as its head of planning, bringing fintech know-how from her time working at Roland Berger, a strategic consultancy firm. In the first half of 2025, Ping An reported $10.9 billion in operating profit, a jump of 3.7%; Life and health new business value jumped almost 40% to reach $3.1 billion.
—Phatpuree Chinkulkitnivat, CFO and Senior Executive Vice President, Bangchak, Thailand
Phatpuree Chinkulkitnivat has been the CFO at Bangchak since 2022 and is the company’s first female finance chief. An energy company, Bangchak Corp., produces petroleum, biofuels, and renewable energy. Phatpuree played a key role in its acquisition of Esso’s Thailand operation, which was completed in 2023. Before becoming CFO at the group level, she was CFO at a Bangchak subsidiary. Chinkulkitnivat has also worked in the banking industry and held leadership positions at several Thai banks.
—Arisara Sakulkarawek, CFO, Banpu, Thailand
Thailand’s Banpu is one of Southeast Asia’s largest energy producers and coal miners, with operations in Indonesia, Australia, and China, and its finances are managed by CFO Arisara Sakulkarawek. She joined Banpu as a vice president for accounting in 2011 and became the group’s chief finance officer in 2019. Sakulkarawek is also a director at several of the subsidiaries of Banpu, which has been expanding into renewable and green energy technologies since 2014.
—Teh Mun Hui, CFO, Capital A, Malaysia
Teh Mun Hui became the chief financial officer of Capital A, a Malaysian holding company that includes low-cost airline AirAsia among its investments. She previously served as AirAsia Aviation’s CFO, as well as the head of finance position at RGB International, a Malaysian casino equipment supplier. Hui is now working to ensure Capital A’s regulatory compliance to support the company’s long-term growth, as the firm also considers a secondary listing in Hong Kong.
—Joanne Rodrigues, Group CFO, Affin Bank, Malaysia
Banking veteran Joanne Rodrigues brings extensive experience from some of Malaysia’s leading financial institutions, including CIMB and AmBank. In 2020, she moved from her role as chief financial officer of AmBank’s wholesale banking division to become CFO at Affin Bank, where she continues to shape the bank’s financial strategy and support its growth momentum. The Malaysian bank reported $515 million in revenue last year, reflecting a strong rebound from the previous year.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
***Upcoming event: The Fortune CFO Roundtable Dinner, an invite-only gathering of senior leaders from Fortune 500 Europe companies, will take place on Nov. 4, 2025, in Frankfurt, Germany. CFOs and senior finance leaders from across the DACH region will convene for a discussion on the topic: “The CFO Advantage in the Age of Agentic AI.” Confirmed attendees include leaders from Merck, Marriott, Schneider Electric, Generali DE, and Treatwell. You can find out more information and apply here.
Leaderboard
Stephen R. Scherger was named EVP and CFO of Amcor (NYSE: AMCR), a consumer packaging and dispensing company, effective Nov. 10. Scherger succeeds Michael Casamento, who, after 10 years as Amcor's CFO, has decided to return home to Australia to be closer to his family on a full-time basis. Casamento will remain as an advisor until June 30, 2026. Scherger brings more than 30 years of experience. Most recently, he served as EVP and CFO of Graphic Packaging since 2015.
Constance O’Brien was named CFO of Heven AeroTech, specializing in the design and manufacture of hydrogen-powered heavy-lift drones. O'Brien brings more than two decades of experience. Most recently, she served as chief operating officer at Axiom Space. Before that, O’Brien served as CFO and COO of IDS International.
Big Deal
The number of U.S. corporate bankruptcies in September fell to 59 from 76 in August, marking the first decline since April, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The data includes companies with public debt and assets or liabilities of at least $2 million, or private companies with assets or liabilities of at least $10 million at the time of filing.
Year-to-date bankruptcy filings reached 581 by the end of September. Bankruptcies were concentrated in the industrial and consumer discretionary sectors. The U.S. Federal Reserve issued its first interest rate cut of 2025 in September, potentially providing relief to overleveraged companies with high debt-service costs, according to the report. This move could lower yields on longer-term U.S. Treasurys, influencing both corporate and consumer borrowing rates, the firm predicts.
Going deeper
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports and limit U.S. exports of software as a response to China's new restrictions on exporting rare earth minerals, which are critical components for technology, automotive, and defense industries. The trade war flare-up sent the S&P 500 to its worst loss since April, and investors are eyeing a stock market rebound.
Trump sought to calm concerns on Sunday in a post on Truth Social, Fortune reported.
“Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!” he wrote. “Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!"
Trump had previously imposed tariffs of up to 145% on China, then put them on hold to allow negotiations to play out, with a 30% tariff remaining in effect. You can read the complete Fortune report here.
Overheard
"This is all a game of high stakes poker going on between the U.S. and China in this AI revolution as we are also seeing more scrutiny in Beijing around Nvidia's 'golden chips.'"
—Wedbush Securities analysts wrote in an industry note Sunday night regarding President Trump’s threat to step up tariffs on China. “Our view of tech stocks remains firmly bullish, but we will continue to see moments like this that create panic and nervousness among tech investors—and tech buying opportunities,” according to the analysts.
