Grace Wang

Few executives have a rags-to-riches story as compelling as that of Grace Wang, cofounder of Chinese electronics maker Luxshare. Facing financial struggles following high school, Wang joined Foxconn's newly opened Shenzhen factory in 1988 as an assembly-line worker. That expertise in precision engineering helped her when she founded Luxshare with her brother in 2004. Since then, Luxshare has won over clients including Apple, helping to build its wireless AirPods. Now, Luxshare is among Apple's top manufacturers, alongside firms like Foxconn and Pegatron.