Women Life Style

Here are the ten most influential women who made their presence felt in their respective fields and acclaimed the highest deserving awards.

The year’s Most Powerful Woman CEO is Indra Nooyi. Formerly CFO and president, the Indian-born strategist reached the top even though she never ran a line operation at Pepsi. Nooyi believes in constant reinvention, ‘The minute you’ve developed a new business model, it’s extinct, because somebody is going to copy it.’

The highest earning corporate woman is Safra Catz, with $26.1 million. This spotlight-shy woman is a key executive on the management team assembled by Oracle’s colorful founder, Larry Ellison. Catz was the force driving the database company’s bid and eventual $10.3 billion takeover of software rival PeopleSoft. With Oracle still on an acquisition spree Catz is working long hours. She was formerly a banker for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and now part of Credit Suisse First Boston.

The rising star in Transportation Systems is Adriane M. Brown, President and CEO of Honeywell Transportation Systems, a position she was appointed to in January 2005. Brown most recently served as Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell Engine Systems & Accessories. She joined Honeywell in 1999 as Vice President and General Manager of Aircraft Landing Systems. Brown leads a $4.5 billion auto products division that makes turbochargers, oil filters, antifreeze, and more. Operating profits last year were $557 million.

Danica Patrick is leading the way on a real racetrack. An American auto-racing driver competing in the Indy Racing League (IRL) was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, to an Irish-American family and was raised in Roscoe, Illinois. ‘I tell young women to find what you love and dream really big, have huge aspirations for yourself and never give up. That whole never-giving-up part only happens when you want to do something badly enough or when you love something enough’, says Patrick.

Forbes magazine has named Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany as the most powerful woman of this year. The first female chancellor in Germany’s history, and the first woman to lead Germany since it became a nation-state in 1871; Merkel is a favorite of German business. From humble beginnings as a Lutheran pastor’s daughter in Hamburg, she graduated with a doctorate of physics from the University of Leipzig. Along with her pro-free-market reform agenda, Merkel advocates a strong German-American relationship, evidenced by her support of the proposals to bring Iran to the nuclear negotiating table. With her conciliatory powers, Merkel has managed to maintain impressive approval ratings both home and abroad.

Biocon chief, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has figured in the list of world’s most powerful women in business of Fortune magazine. She was chosen as one among the most powerful women in business for her outstanding contribution to the field of biotechnology. She has received several awards during her career of over 25 years. Kiran had to break through the ‘glass ceiling’ effect on several occasions being a woman entrepreneur in the traditional Indian society. She believed that Indian women can do well in business even if they don’t belong to a business family or have political influence or immense wealth.

Amy Pascal, the chief of the Sony Pictures has been named as the most powerful woman in the film business. Industry journal The Hollywood Reporter conferred this honor on Ms Pascal for her recognition of such money-spinners as The Da Vinci Code and Casino Royale. Before joining the crew of Sony, she was managing Columbia Pictures from 1996 to 2003, there too she gained success coz of Spiderman.

Sunita Williams, of Euclid, Ohio, a NASA astronaut became the second woman of Indian origin to have been selected by NASA for a space mission after Kalpana Chawla. She received her charge as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987 and was nominated as a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She then reported to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 for initial H46. Upon completion of this training, she was allocated to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 in Norfolk, Virginia. In September 1992, she was the Officer-in-Charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida for Hurricane Andrew Relief Operations onboard USS Sylvania. When she was recommended for the astronaut program she was deployed onboard USS Saipan.

Financial Times has announced the world’s richest self-made women as Ms. Zhang Yin who is ‘worth an estimated $3.4bn’. This female Tree Hugging entrepreneur started up Nine Dragons paper just a few years ago and owns 72 % of her listed company. She buys scrap paper from USA and processes it in China for sale.

The International Women’s Media Foundation honored May Chidiac, host of Lebanon’s ‘Good Day’ popular TV program based on politics for her courage, integrity, and sacrifice. She lost her left hand and leg in a purposeful explosion, which occurred, in her car because of her audacity on Syria’s possible involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.