Lubna Olayan

The CEO of Saudi-based Olayan Financing Company is a mainstay on our list. She has run her family’s diversified holding company, whose activities span 12 sectors and range from investing and real estate to the manufacture and distribution of foreign beverages (like Coca-Cola), cookies (like Nabisco’s Oreos) and heavy equipment (like Cummins’ engines), since 1986. A rare female business executive in the Middle East, she is a pioneering figure in her native Saudi Arabia. She is also prominent on the world stage as a Davos regular and a member of many corporate and philanthropic boards. —Erika Fry

Read more about Lubna Olayan in “This CEO is helping Saudi women break a gender barrier.”