Rose Lee Wai Mun

Under Lee’s leadership, the regional bank (majority-owned by HSBC) has emerged as one of the safest banks in the world. With $163 billion in assets—a very low percentage of which are rated non-performing—Hang Seng boasts a market capitalization of $35 billion, with first-half 2015 profit up 137%, to $2.6 billion. Lee, who started at HSBC in 1977, has kept the business local, concentrating on deposits; over half the adult population of Hong Kong has an account there. Lee is also an independent director of CK Hutchison Holdings and Swire Pacific, two of Hong Kong’s largest public companies. —Rupali Arora