20 Entrepreneurs and Executives Featured on Forbes List of Asia’s Most Powerful Businesswomen
As the world grapples with new socioeconomic scenarios, women executives and businesswomen in the Asia-Pacific region remain undeterred. They are moving forward with new businesses and rising to prominent positions in some of the largest and most prestigious companies in the region.
The list Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen This year’s event brings together 20 leaders working across a wide range of sectors, including finance and banking, real estate, technology and commodities.
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Some have risen through the corporate hierarchy to the top rung – becoming, in many cases, the first woman to assume these roles. Others are building their own empire or taking their family businesses to new heights.
All of them are newcomers to the list, adding to the network of business women who stand out in the region. They were selected for their achievements and track record as great business leaders.
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See below some of the executives and entrepreneurs who appear on this year’s list of Asia’s most powerful women.
Lee Young-hee President of Global Marketing, Samsung Electronics | Age 59 • South Korea Lee Young-hee, who is not related to the Samsung Group-founding Lee family, made headlines in patriarchal South Korea when Samsung Electronics promoted her from executive vice president to global marketing president in December 2022. Lee’s rise makes her the technology giant’s first female president and the first outside the founding family to hold that role. Lee is the only woman among 17 presidents of Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of chips, smartphones and TVs. She joined Samsung in 2007, after stints at French giant L’Oréal and consumer goods conglomerate Unilever. With a master’s degree in advertising from Northwestern University in the US, she is credited with helping Samsung become the biggest seller of smartphones by shipment. “If marketers get lost, customers lose interest too,” she said in May at a conference in Seoul.moreTrudy Dai CEO, Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba Group | 47 years old • China Co-founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, owner of AliExpress, Trudy Dai recently started managing the shopping sites Taobao and Tmall. This is after the company split into six smaller business units. The 47-year-old businesswoman is focused on promoting products with good value for money amid China’s economic crisis. The strategy has helped Alibaba attract consumers and merchants despite fierce competition from rivals such as JD.com and PDD Holdings. By selling cheaper products and charging merchants lower fees, Taobao and Tmall grew their user bases and generated 115 billion yuan ($16 billion) in revenue in the April-June quarter. This represented 49% of Alibaba’s total sales during the period, beating expectations for a 14% year-on-year increase to 234 billion yuan. Before his current role, Dai led Alibaba’s domestic e-commerce sales, as well as a B2B sales unit that included AliExpress and Taobao Deals, a platform for purchasing discounted products.moreMichelle Bullock Head of the Reserve Bank of Australia | 60 years • Australia In September, Michele Bullock made history by becoming the 9th person to govern the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) and the first woman to head the central bank. The appointment came just under 18 months after her promotion to lieutenant governor. “She is an exceptional economist and leader, with a deep understanding of the role and operations of the RBA, built over her long and distinguished career at the central bank,” Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said when Bullock was appointed. She grew up in the regional city of Armidale (between Sydney and Brisbane) and completed a master’s degree at the London School of Economics. She joined the central bank as an analyst in 1985 and held several positions, including assistant governor for the financial system. Bullock has a big task ahead: reviewing the RBA’s operations after the central bank was criticized for its poor public communications, as well as continuing its battle to contain inflation. “I am very aware that I give [outras mulheres] the perception that they can also progress”, he said in an interview.moreAlice Chang Founder and CEO of Perfect Corp. | 61 years old • Taiwan Alice Chang is the founder and CEO of beautytech Perfect Corp., based in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. In the late 1990s, Chang quit her job in finance to start the software company Cyberlink – which had annual sales of up to $150 million – with her husband, Jau Huang. In 2014, she left to start Perfect Corp., whose core product has evolved from photo editing software to artificial intelligence and augmented reality-based services that let shoppers virtually try on makeup, hair color, jewelry and other products. Today, more than 600 brands use Perfect’s technology, including some of the biggest beauty companies in the world. “If you can’t keep up with the new technological paradigm, you’ll be out of the game,” says the founder. In late 2022, the company went public on the Nasdaq and reported revenue growth of 6% to $25 million year-over-year in its most recent earnings release. She expects at least a 12% increase in full-year sales. To enhance its offerings, Chang says the company is starting to use generative AI to provide better product recommendations to users.moreStephanie Hui Asia Pacific Private Equity and Growth Leader, Goldman Sachs | Age 50 • Hong Kong Stephanie Hui first joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 1995. She left briefly to earn an MBA at Harvard, returning to the firm in 2000 and rising through the ranks to co-head the commercial banking division for the region Pacific-Asian, excluding Japan, a little over a decade later. She was appointed head of private equity in Asia Pacific (including Japan) in 2019. Hui says the best advice she received was to speak up and be heard. “Asian culture is more about keeping your head down, doing your job and someone will notice you somehow,” she says. “But many of my mentors taught me to be more vocal. If I see things that need to be changed, I need to speak up.” Among her businesses, Hui worked to acquire a 7% stake in ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), the world’s largest, in 2006 for $2.5 billion before the Chinese bank’s IPO. This became one of Goldman Sachs’ most profitable investments. Under his leadership, the company also led a $36 million investment in South Korea’s largest food delivery app, Woowa Brothers, in 2014, and a $50 million series C round in 2021 in Perfect Corp. , a beauty and technology startup from also-listed Alice Chang.moreMR Jyothy Managing Director, Jyothy Labs | Age 45 • India In April 2020, MR Jyothy took over as managing director of the Mumbai-based consumer goods company founded and named after her by her father, MP Ramachandran, now chairman emeritus. Jyothy Labs manufactures products such as detergents and dishwasher soaps in 23 factories across India. It is also the market leader in the fabric whitener segment, with more than 80% market share. The company ranks second in sales value in the bars and dishwasher liquids category and is second in volume in mosquito repellent coils. Revenue grew 13% to 25 billion rupees ($300 million) in the year ended March 31. And net profit rose 51% to 2.4 billion rupees despite a sharp rise in raw material prices. “We are very hungry for growth,” says Jyothy. “There’s a lot of room for growth in each of our categories, whether it’s fabric care, dishwashing, personal care or insecticides.” Jyothy, who holds a degree in commerce and an MBA in marketing from the Mumbai-based Welingkar Institute of Management and Research, joined the company’s marketing division in 2005 and became chief marketing officer in 2017. She took on the top operational role in first months of the pandemic.moreMeliza Musa Rusli President, Banco Permata | 49 years old • Indonesia Meliza Musa Rusli was appointed CEO of Bank Permata in May 2022, becoming the first woman to head the bank that is among Indonesia’s top ten largest in terms of assets. Promoted from her previous role as vice president, she is focused on growing the bank’s domestic and international customer base, which was acquired by Thailand’s Bangkok Bank in a $2.3 billion deal in 2020. After earning her degree degree in electrical engineering from the University of Indonesia, Rusli entered the financial services sector and worked at companies such as Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, UBS and Credit Suisse.more
Check out the full list here.
*Research and reporting: Jonathan Burgos, Susan Cunningham, John Kang, Danielle Keeton-Olsen, Phisanu Phromchanya, Anuradha Raghunathan, James Simms, Jessica Tan, Yue Wang and Ardian Wibisono.
