Women around the world are continuing to win the top jobs. Women are shaking this up in the corporate world as Fortune magazine releases its annual list of the most powerful women in business.
Mariana Gheorghe, OMV Petrom CEO, the Romanian most profitable company, was again included this year in Fortune magazine’s top of most powerful women in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. According to 2014 issue, Mariana Gheorghe climbed from 27 to 19 position in the last year.
Mariana Gheorghe, 56, has been CEO of OMV Petrom for six years, a period in which the company has substantially improved its financial performance. Its 2011 net profit grew by 72 percent to RON 3.75 billion (over EUR 800 million), while the sales moved up by 21 percent to RON 22.6 billion (close to EUR 5 billion).
Ginni Rometty, No. 1 for the third time running the most powerful women in the world top, continues to retool IBM. No. 2, Mary Barra, must fix General Motors from the inside out. And Marillyn Hewson, the CEO of Lockheed Martin and Fortune fourth-ranked woman, is looking beyond defense for growth. In this region, the top is led by Ana Botin, president of Santander Bank in Spain.
Ana Botin hurtled to the top of the list when, following her father’s death, she was named head of Banco Santander, with USD 1.5 trillion in assets.
The Most Powerful Women in Business list is compiled by Fortune editors, who consider four criteria: the size and importance of the woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman’s career, and social and cultural influence.