Ho Ching

As the Executive Director and CEO of Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek, Ho oversees a financial behemoth. With 800 employees across 11 offices around the world, Temasek had a net portfolio value of $231 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2019. The firm recorded a total shareholder return of 1.49% last year. The company anticipated an increasingly challenging environment in 2019, investing $17 billion and divesting $20 billion through the end of March. The U.S. again accounted for the largest share of Temasek’s new investments, followed by Europe and China. Some of its new investments include North American companies such as UST Global, a digital solutions provider, and DoorDash, an online food delivery marketplace.

Succession questions continue to swirl around Ho, who joined Temasek in 2002. There are occasional signs she is stepping back from power, as in March, when Lee Theng Kiat replaced her as Chairman of Temasek International, one of the firm's subsidiaries. She said the change is meant to make sure that Temasek International is “ready for disruptive challenges and opportunities in the decade ahead.”

Subscribe to The Broadsheet, our newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.