Rose Lee Wai Mun

In charge of one of Hong Kong’s largest listed companies—with a market cap of $33 billion—Lee had a great 2015. Profits were up 82%, to $3.5 billion, on the sale of the bank’s stake in Shanghai-listed Industrial Bank. But Lee, a nearly 40-year bank veteran, is bracing for a challenging year ahead with a cooling economy, a weak local property market, and low interest rates. She is lowering risk and hoping to grind out income from cross-border investments and insurance initiatives. In June, Lee secured approval from Chinese regulators to take a 70% stake in the mainland’s first onshore foreign-majority owned asset management fund in Qianha.