
Age: 50
When Anne Mulcahy passes the reins to Burns, it will mark the first Fortune 500 woman-to-woman CEO handoff in history. Burns is well prepared to tackle the job: The 28-year company veteran already oversees R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing, and also sits on the board of American Express.
NEXT: Ann Livermore
Last updated October 16 2008: 10:16 AM ET