The World's 100 Most Powerful Women - 2009

Do you know them? I confess I haven't heard some of these names. Other, I couldn't say what they do. I must conclude that my knowledge about powerful women is weak... unfortunately!

Forbes' Power Women list isn't about celebrity or popularity; it's about influence. The Forbs' «annual ranking of the most powerful women in the world measures "power" as a composite of public profile - calculated using press mentions--and financial heft. The economic component of the ranking considers job title and past career accomplishments, as well as the amount of money the woman controls».

For the fourth year running Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, is the world's most powerful woman.

The top 10 is:

1 - Angela Merkel - Chancellor Germany (1st in 2008)
2 - Sheila C. Bair - Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, U.S.A. (2nd in 2008)
3 - Indra K. Nooyi - Chairman, Chief Executive, Pepsi Co, U.S.A. (3rd in 2008)
4 - Cynthia Carroll - Chief Executive, Anglo American, United Kingdom) (5th in 2008)
5 - Ho Ching - Chief executive, Temasek, Singapore (8th in 2008)
6 - Irene B. Rosenfeld - Chairman, Chief Executive, Kraft Foods, U.S.A. (6th in 2008)
7 - Ellen Kullman Chief executive, DuPont, U.S.A.
8 - Angela Braly - Chief Executive, WellPoint, U.S.A. (4th in 2008)
9 - Anne Lauvergeon - Chief executive, Areva, France (9th in 2008)
10- Lynn Elsenhans Chief executive, Sunoco, U. S. A.

By country, Portugal has noone in the top 100. United States has 63% of the 100 most powerful women in the world, United Kingdom 4, France and India 3, Netherlands and Singapore 2 and more 23 countries listed with one woman. Germany only has one but this one is the most powerful woman in the World!