Allison Kirkby

An industry veteran, Kirkby took charge at Telia, the $9.1 billion Swedish telecom with operations throughout Scandinavia and the Baltics, in May. Shareholders seem pleased with her arrival and her recent decision to sell the world’s largest international fiber network—which spans 115 countries and is used by 900 other telecom operators and tech companies—as well as the company’s stakes in Turkish and Afghan telecom operators; the company’s stock is up 30% in that time. The Swedish government holds a roughly 40% stake in the 167-year-old company. Kirkby, who sits on the board of BT, previously helmed competitor Tele2 and was in the middle of a turnaround job at Danish telecom TDC when she was recruited by Telia.

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