Alison Rose

Rose was already considered the most-powerful woman in U.K. banking following her appointment in late 2018 to deputy CEO of NatWest, the “ring-fenced” unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland that doesn’t include the high-risk investment banking business. Then came the blockbuster announcement in September that she would be RBS's new CEO, succeeding Ross McEwan, who’s credited with turning around the bank; two years ago, it recorded its first profit after a 10-year drought. The CEO appointment makes Rose, a 27-year RBS veteran who joined its executive committee in 2014, the first woman to lead one of the U.K.'s four biggest banks; RBS recorded revenue of $22.2 billion last year.

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