The Global Power 50

With 11 newcomers - several of them American expats gone to Europe - our list of the most powerful women in global business demonstrates their rise in male-dominated fields, from nuclear energy to mining to oil.

17 of 50

17. Clara Furse

CEO
London Stock Exchange

Country: Britain
2006 rank: 26

Furse, the first woman to run the 300-year-old exchange, fiercely defends its independence as she moves to expand its international position. She thwarted a takeover attempt by Nasdaq, leaving the London exchange with two competing Gulf states, Qatar and Dubai, as its main shareholders. Furse, 50, also bolstered the exchange's European reach by acquiring the Milan bourse and doubled the LSE's operating profit last year to $350 million.

Cynthia Carroll Anne Lauvergeon Marjorie Scardino Patricia Russo Linda Cook Anne-Marie Idrac Marina Berlusconi Güler Sabanci Ana Patricia Botín Nancy McKinstry Annika Falkengren Ho Ching Maureen Chiquet Maria Ramos Chua Sock Koong Vivienne Cox Clara Furse Angela Ahrendts Barbara Kux Gulzhan Moldazhanova Val Gooding Patricia Barbizet Deb Henretta Cheung Yan Yang Mianmian María Aramburuzabala de Garza Sun Yafang Gail Kelly Lubna Olayan Barbara Stymiest Ingrid Matthäus-Maier Kate Swann Chanda Kochhar Ilene Gordon Galia Maor Pansy Ho Françoise Gri Naina Lal Kidwai Yoshiko Shinohara Barbara Dalibard Teresita Sy-Coson Dominique Hériard Dubreuil Imre Barmanbek Dominique Reiniche Sawako Noma Ofra Strauss Clara Gaymard Dong Mingzhu Li Xiaolin Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

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