
Drawing inspiration from the 2025 Forbes Power Women list, The EBNW Story highlights the remarkable journeys of women who are redefining leadership and shaping the future across sectors. From politics and technology to philanthropy, business and culture, these women are scripting powerful success stories through resilience, innovation and influence. Their achievements demonstrate how determination and vision can break barriers and create lasting global impact. By spotlighting such inspiring figures, EBNW aims to celebrate the spirit of women who are not only excelling in their fields but also paving the way for the next generation of leaders around the world.
Tan Su Shan
- Title: CEO
- Company: DBS
- Location: Singapore
Tan Su Shan became the Group CEO DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank with $637 billion in assets, in March 2025. She first joined the bank in 2010, spending three years building its wealth management business before going on to run DBS’ consumer banking and institutional banking businesses, units that drive some 90% of DBS’ income. Tan is also the founder and president of the Financial Women’s Association in Singapore.
Colette Kress

- Title: CFO and EVP
- Company: Nvidia
- Location: United States
As executive vice president and chief financial officer of Nvidia, Colette Kress has helped oversee one of the greatest revenue growth stories in tech history: In its 2025 fiscal year, the chip making giant recorded $130.5 billion in revenue, more than double what it’d been just one year before. Kress was named to her position in 2013; she’d previously held senior finance roles at Cisco and Microsoft.
Hana al Rostamani

- Title: Group CEO
- Company: First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Location: United Arab Emirates
One of the most powerful executives in the Middle East, Hana al Rostamani has been the Group CEO of First Abu Bank since 2021. She is the first woman to run the bank, which reported $365 billion in assets at the end of the first half of its fiscal 2025. al Rostamani also sits on several boards, including the executive board of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council.
Gwynne Shotwell

- Title: President & COO
- Company: SpaceX
- Location: United States
A mechanical engineer by training, Gwynne Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002 as employee No. 11. Today she is the company’s president and chief operating officer, responsible for scaling it into the globe’s dominant rocket company. By early December 2025, SpaceX had deployed its 3,000th satellite and Shotwell, with an estimated 0.3% stake in the company, had joined the ranks of the world’s billionaires.
Here is the information organized into a clean table format:
| Rank | Name | Title | Organization | Category | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ursula von der Leyen | President, European Commission | European Union | Politics & Policy | Belgium |
| 2 | Christine Lagarde | President | European Central Bank | Politics & Policy | Germany |
| 3 | Sanae Takaichi | Prime Minister | Japan | Politics & Policy | Japan |
| 4 | Giorgia Meloni | Prime Minister | Italy | Politics & Policy | Italy |
| 5 | Claudia Sheinbaum | President | Mexico | Politics & Policy | Mexico |
| 6 | Julie Sweet | Chair & CEO | Accenture | Business | United States |
| 7 | Mary Barra | CEO | General Motors | Business | United States |
| 8 | Jane Fraser | Chair & CEO | Citi | Finance | United States |
| 9 | Abigail Johnson | Chairman & CEO | Fidelity Investments | Finance | United States |
| 10 | Lisa Su | CEO | AMD | Technology | United States |
| 11 | MacKenzie Scott | Philanthropist | Yield Giving | Philanthropy | United States |
| 12 | Ruth Porat | President & CIO | Alphabet | Technology | United States |
| 13 | Melinda French Gates | Founder | Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation | Philanthropy | United States |
| 14 | Gail Boudreaux | CEO | Elevance | Business | United States |
| 15 | Ana Patricia Botín | Executive Chairman | Santander | Finance | Spain |
| 16 | Amy Hood | Executive Vice President & CFO | Microsoft | Technology | United States |
| 17 | Kristalina Georgieva | Managing Director | IMF | Politics & Policy | United States |
| 18 | Tarciana Paula Gomes Medeiros | President and CEO | Banco de Brasil | Finance | Brazil |
| 19 | Catherine MacGregor | CEO | ENGIE | Business | France |
| 20 | Gwynne Shotwell | President & COO | SpaceX | Technology | United States |
| 21 | Taylor Swift | Artist | — | Media & Entertainment | United States |
| 22 | Laurene Powell Jobs | Founder | Emerson Collective | Philanthropy | United States |
| 23 | Gunjan Kedia | President & CEO | U.S. Bank | Finance | United States |
| 24 | Nirmala Sitharaman | Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs | Government of India | Politics & Policy | India |
| 25 | Kathryn McLay | CEO | Walmart International | Business | United States |
| 26 | Carol Tomé | CEO | UPS | Business | United States |
| 27 | Phebe Novakovic | CEO | General Dynamics | Business | United States |
| 28 | Marianne Lake | CEO, Consumer & Community Banking | JPMorgan Chase | Finance | United States |
| 29 | Tan Su Shan | CEO | DBS | Finance | Singapore |
| 30 | Oprah Winfrey | Entrepreneur, Personality, Philanthropist | — | Media & Entertainment | United States |
| 31 | Sarah London | CEO | Centene | Business | United States |
| 32 | Sandy Ran Xu | CEO | JD.com | Business | China |
| 33 | Beyoncé Knowles-Carter | Artist | — | Media & Entertainment | United States |
| 34 | Ho Ching | Chair | Temasek Trust | Finance | Singapore |
| 35 | Dana Walden | Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment | The Walt Disney Company | Media & Entertainment | United States |
| 36 | Thasunda Brown Duckett | CEO | TIAA | Finance | United States |
| 37 | Colette Kress | Executive Vice President & CFO | NVIDIA | Technology | United States |
| 38 | Kathy Warden | Chairman, President & CEO | Northrop Grumman | Business | United States |
| 39 | Rachel Reeves | Chancellor of the Exchequer | United Kingdom Government | Politics & Policy | United Kingdom |
| 40 | Mary Callahan Erdoes | CEO, Asset & Wealth Management | JPMorgan Chase | Finance | United States |
| 41 | Susan Li | CFO | Meta | Technology | United States |
| 42 | Estelle Brachlianoff | CEO | Veolia | Business | France |
| 43 | Jennifer Piepszak | COO | JPMorgan Chase | Finance | United States |
| 44 | Janet Truncale | Global CEO | EY | Business | United States |
| 45 | Adena Friedman | Chair & CEO | Nasdaq | Finance | United States |
| 46 | Lynn Martin | President, NYSE Group | New York Stock Exchange | Finance | United States |
| 47 | Julie Gao | CFO | ByteDance | Technology | China |
| 48 | Amanda Blanc | CEO | Aviva | Business | United Kingdom |
| 49 | Margherita Della Valle | CEO | Vodafone | Business | United Kingdom |
| 50 | Sarah Friar | CFO | OpenAI | Technology | United States |

