Annika Falkengren

This is Falkengren’s tenth year atop SEB and 28th year at the company—and she is leading her organization through unprecedented times. The Nordic bank executive, whose cautious style proved wise during the financial crisis, is now guiding her organization through an era of negative interest rates. An outspoken critic of Europe’s central banks recently, Falkengren has focused on building capital buffers in case of unexpected losses—and, for retail clients, limiting their exposure to risky loans. Her bank’s profits were up 21% in 2014. —Erika Fry