Forbes recently released the list of the 100 most powerful women in the world, and although NZ didn’t make the cut, our closet ally [and rival] Australia proudly laid claim to CEO of Westpac Trust Gail Kelly. At #18, Ms Kelly ranked higher than US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and the Queen, according to Forbes magazine.

The Top 10 include:

1. Angela Merkel, Chancellor, Germany 
2. Sheila Bair, chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp,  US 
3. Indra Nooyi, chief executive, PepsiCo,  US 
4. Cynthia Carroll, chief executive, Anglo American, UK 
5. Ho Ching, chief executive, Temasek,  Singapore 
6. Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive, Kraft Foods,  US 
7. Ellen Kullman, chief executive, DuPont,  US 
8. Angela Braly, chief executive, WellPoint,  US 
9. Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive, Areva, France 
10. Lynn Elsenhans Chief executive, Sunoco  US

The three criteria used to assess each candidate were ”public profile through worldwide media mentions, professional accomplishments and economic influence”.

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