Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI Bank India and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Chairperson, Biocon India are the only Indians in the Forbes annual list of the 100 most powerful women.
The list, which was released last night, includes fiery chief executives, brilliant politicians and beloved queens, but the model for all women who seek influence, is the cautious and uncharismatic German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Nooyi is listed as the third most powerful woman in the world, while Sonia Gandhi Kochhar and Shaw are ranked 13, 20 and 91 respectively. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed is the only other South Asian in the list and is ranked 78.
Americans make up 63 of the 100, while only four women from Britain make the grade
In assembling the list, Forbes looked for women who run countries, big companies or influential nonprofits. Their rankings are a combination of two scores:
Visibility - by press mentions - and the size of the organization or country these women lead.
The list is as follows:
1 Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany
2 Sheila Bair Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. U.S.
3 Indra Nooyi Chief Executive, PepsiCo U.S.
4 Cynthia Carroll Chief Executive, Anglo American U.K.
5 Ho Ching Chief Executive, Temasek Singapore
6 Irene Rosenfeld Chief Executive, Kraft Foods U.S.
7 Ellen Kullman Chief Executive, DuPont U.S.
8 Angela Braly Chief Executive, WellPoint U.S.
9 Anne Lauvergeon Chief Executive, Areva France
10 Lynn Elsenhans Chief Executive, Sunoco U.S.
11 Cristina Fernandez President Argentina
12 Carol Bartz Chief Executive, Yahoo U.S.
13 Sonia Gandhi President, Indian National Congress Party, India
14 Ursula Burns Chief Executive, Xerox Corp. U.S.
15 Anne Mulcahy Chairperson, Xerox Corp. U.S.
16 Safra Catz President, Oracle U.S.
17 Christine Lagarde Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment, France
18 Gail Kelly Chief Executive, Westpac Australia
19 Marjorie Scardino Chief Executive, Pearson Plc. U.K.
20 Chanda Kochhar Chief Executive, ICICI Bank India
21 Mary Sammons Chief Executive, Rite Aid Corp. U.S.
22 Michelle Bachelet President of Chile
23 Paula Reynolds Chief Restructuring Officer, AIG U.S.
24 Carol Meyrowitz Chief Executive, TJX Companies U.S.
25 Andrea Jung Chief Executive, Avon U.S.
26 Patricia Woertz Chief Executive, Archer Daniels Midland U.S.
27 Guler Sabanci Chairperson, Sabanci Holding Turkey
28 Barbara Desoer President, Bank of America Mortgage, Home Equity and Insurance U.S.
29 Brenda Barnes Chief Executive, Sara Lee Corp. U.S.
30 Risa Lavizzo-Mourey Chief Executive, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation U.S.
31 Ann Livermore Executive Vice President, Hewlett-Packard U.S.
32 Cathie Lesjak Executive vice president, Hewlett-Packard U.S.
33 Marina Berlusconi Chairperson, Fininvest Group Italy
34 Melinda Gates Co-chairperson, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation U.S.
35 Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House, House of Representatives U.S.
36 Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State U.S.A.
37 Jane Mendillo Chief Executive, Harvard Management Co. U.S.
38 Margaret Chan Director-general, World Health Org. Switzerland
39 Susan Chambers Executive Vice President, Global People Division, Wal-Mart Stores U.S.
40 Michelle Obama First Lady of U.S.A.
41 Oprah Winfrey Chairperson, Harpo U.S.
42 Queen Elizabeth II Queen of U.K.
43 Nancy McKinstry Chief Executive, Wolters Kluwer Netherlands
44 Gloria Arroyo President of Philippines
45 Ana Patricia Botin Executive Chairperson, Banesto Spain
46 Ann Veneman Executive Director, UNICEF U.S.
47 Yulia Tymoshenko Prime Minister of Ukraine
48 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court Justice U.S.
49 Janet Robinson Chief Executive, The New York Times Co. U.S.
50 Dominique Senequier Chief Executive, AXA Private Equity France
51 Janet Napolitano Secretary of Homeland Security U.S.
52 Neelie Kroes Commissioner for Competition, European Union Belgium
53 Gail Boudreaux President, UnitedHealthcare U.S.
54 Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court Justice U.S.
55 Mary Schapiro Chairperson Securities and Exchange Commission U.S.
56 Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of Health and Human Services U.S.
57 Ellen Alemany Chief Executive, RBS Americas and Citizens Financial Group U.S.
58 Susan Ivey Chief Executive, Reynolds American U.S.
59 Amy Pascal Cochairperson, Sony Pictures Entertainment U.S.
60 Helen Clark Chairman, United Nations Development Group New Zealand
61 Judy McGrath Chief executive, MTV Networks U.S.
62 Stacey Snider Chief Executive, DreamWorks SKG U.S.
63 Navanethem Pillay High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations South Africa
64 Janet Clark Chief financial Officer, Marathon Oil U.S.
65 Sherilyn McCoy Worldwide Chairperson, Pharmaceuticals Group, Johnson and Johnson U.S.
66 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President of Liberia
67 Tarja Halonen President of Finland
68 Mary McAleese President of Ireland
69 Virginia Rometty Senior Vice President, IBM U.S.
70 Angela Ahrendts Chief Executive, Burberry Group Plc. U.K.
71 Sri Indrawati Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance Indonesia
72 Terri Dial Chief Executive, U.S. Consumer Bank, Citigroup U.S.
73 Deirdre Connelly President, North American Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithkline U.S.
74 Johanna Sigurdardottir Prime Minister of Iceland
75 Queen Rania Queen of Jordan
76 Christina Gold Chief Executive, Western Union U.S.
77 Colleen Goggins Worldwide Chairperson, Johnson and Johnson U.S.
78 Hasina Wajed Prime Minister of Bangladesh
79 Hyun Jeong-eun Chairperson, Hyundai Group South Korea
80 Amy Schulman Senior Vice President, Pfizer U.S.
81 Penny Pritzker Chairperson, Classic Residence by Hyatt U.S.
82 Drew Faust President, Harvard University U.S.
83 Melanie Healey Group President, Feminine and Health Care, Procter and Gamble U.S.
84 Elizabeth Smith President, Avon U.S.
85 Deb Henretta Group President, Asia, Procter and Gamble Singapore
86 Ann Moore Chief Executive, Time Inc. U.S.
87 Sallie Krawcheck Chief Executive Global Wealth Management, Bank of America U.S.
88 Pamela Nicholson President, Enterprise Rent-A-Car U.S.
89 Janice Fields Chief Operating Officer, McDonald's USA U.S.
90 Stephanie Burns Chief Executive, Dow Corning U.S.
91 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Chairperson, Biocon India
92 Eva Cheng Executive Vice President, Amway Greater China and Southeast Asia Hong Kong
93 Efrat Peled Chief Executive, Arison Investments Israel
94 Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi Minister of the Economy United Arab Emirates
95 Charlene Begley Chief Executive, GE Enterprise Solutions U.S.
96 Mindy Grossman Chief Executive, HSN, Inc. U.S.
97 Sharon Allen Chairperson, Deloitte and Touche U.S.
98 Anne Sweeney Co-chairperson, Disney Media Networks U.S.
99 Heidi Miller Chief Executive Treasury and Securities Services, JPMorgan Chase U.S.
100 Mary Erdoes Chairperson, JPMorgan Global Wealth Management U.S.
