FORTUNE's annual ranking of America's leading businesswomen
Sawako Noma Rank: 31 (2004 rank: 31)
Company: Kodansha Based in: Japan Title: President and CEO
Kodansha's revenues slipped 4% last year, to $1.4 billion, but Noma, 62, who has run Japan's largest publishing house for 18 years, is pushing into new markets. The company, which was founded in 1909 by her grandfather, recently introduced an online, on-demand publishing system that allows customers to order copies of out-of-print books. And it established a wholly owned subsidiary in China.
From the November 14, 2005 issue
Highest pay
These women are among the highest paid in corporate America. All of them are employed by companies with over $1 billion in sales that filed proxies by September 1, 2005.
Newcomer Charlene Begley heads up GE's plastics division and is the youngest of this group at age 39. She bumped last year's youngest gun, Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, now 40. But, on average, the Power 50 are in their late 40s.
