The forbes ranking of the 100 most powerful women in the world for 2018 was announced in December. Chancellor Angela Merkel is on top for the eighth time in a row. The list of US business magazine has been published for 15 years and includes women who are now considered the most influential personalities around the world. The Forbes-Magazin emphasizes that Merkel's future is uncertain when you consider that it will no longer run for re-election in 2021. However, the influence that she has had since 2000 as chair of the Christian Democratic Union and since 2005 as Chancellor in Germany is undeniable.
In second place is Prime Minister Theresa May, who has headlines for the past two years for her attempts to save the negotiations with the EU on Brexit.
3rd placeChristine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lagarde has risen in the Forbes list. She was in 8th place last year.
The top 10 most powerful women in the world are also Melinda Gates, co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Susan Wojcicki, CEO from YouTube, and Ginni Romeetty, CEO from IBM.
Here is the list of the 10 most powerful women of Forbes for 2018:
1. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
Angela Merkel has been chair of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany since 2000.
She has been Chancellor in Germany since 2005 and has headed the largest economy in Europe during this time.
Because of her increased position, Merkel was referred to as the "leader of the free world".
In October she announced in a shock announcement that she would resign as a German Chancellor in 2021.
2. Theresa May, British Prime Minister
After David Cameron's resignation in 2016, Theresa May was British Prime Minister and Chair of the Conservative Party. Since then, their main focus has been on leading the Brexit negotiations with the EU. The European heads of state and government approved their plan in November 2018. However, the exit of the EU could destroy years of work to create peace on the island. May is under great pressure and continues to fight for a united Great Britain.
3. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF
Christine Lagarde was the first female managing director of the IMF in 2011.
In the past, she had various ministerial posts in the government in France, including Minister for Economics, Finance and Employment, Minister of Commerce and Minister for Agriculture and Fishing.
During its term, the IMF mastered the debt crisis in the euro zone, the emerging market crisis and the risk of a US trade war with China.
In November, she warned that disputes and tariffs endanger global growth and asked the countries to stabilize world trade. Lagarde has also massively promoted that the central banks should start quickly with the introduction of its own cryptocurrencies worldwide.
4. Mary Barra, CEO and Chairman of General Motors
Mary Barra was appointed CEO of General Motors in 2014. Before she took over the position of the CEO, Barra Executive Vice President for global product development, purchasing and supply chain at General Motors.
From 2014 to the first quarter of 2018, the company achieved a profit of $ 21.5 billion. Barra has invested billions in electric vehicles, self -driving cars and a driving service called Maven to ensure the future of the car manufacturer.
GM is in first place in the global report to equality in 2018.
5. Abigail Johnson, chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments
Abigail Johnson has been CEO and President of Fidelity Investments and chair of the sister company Fidelity International since 2014.
Two years later, she was also appointed chairman of the US investment company.
Johnson came to Fidelity as an analyst in 1988. The company was founded by her grandfather. However, she was not afraid to shake things up in the company and concentrate on new solutions.
6. Melinda Gates, co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was founded to support health initiatives at a global level. It is the world's largest private non-profit foundation with a foundation asset of $ 40 billion.
Melinda Gates has dedicated a large part of her work to women and girls' rights. The Medical Research Institute of Bill and Melinda Gates develops new medication and vaccines for health problems that affect millions of people around the world, including malaria and tuberculosis.
7. Susan Wojcicki, CEO from YouTube
In 1999 Wojcicki became Google. In 2006 she campaigned for the takeover of YouTube of $ 1.65 billion.
Wojcicki was described by Time in 2015 as the "most powerful woman in the world". She made it more control over all contents of the website that contain hate speeches or extremist views.
8. Ana Botin, CEO of the Santander Group
After the sudden death of her father Emilio, Ana Botin took over the chair of the Santander Group. Before that, she was CEO of the Santander UK. She is the fourth member of the botin family, who was appointed CEO of Spain, after her father, grandfather and great-grandfather. She focused on supporting small business owners and women's companies. Ana Botin founded Santander X to strengthen entrepreneurship at universities and universities.
9. Marillyn Hewson, CEO von Lockheed Martin
Marillyn Hewson has been chairwoman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin, an American armaments and technology group since 2013 that is active in the areas of aerospace, security and technology.
In 2015 she was chosen by Forbes the 20th most powerful woman in the world.
She came to Lockheed Martin in 1983 and took over various positions, including the Executive Vice President of the electronics systems from Lockheed Martin and the President of Lockheed Martin Logistics Services.
Hewson has focused on international expansion and increased the total of 17% to 30% overseas. In 2017, the company generated sales of $ 51 billion. In order to stay at the top of the innovation, Lockheed Martin is developing an overview aircraft for NASA that is not supposed to create sound bang.
10. Ginni Rometty, CEO von Ibm
In 1981 Ginni Rometty joined IBM as a system engineer. More than three decades after entering the company, she became President and CEO. She has put cognitive computing at the center of her future strategy and made massive missions in blockchain and quantum computing.
During her time as IBM boss, Rometty has already received several awards, including one of the 50 most influential people of Bloomberg in the world and in time among the 20 most important technical employees.
At the beginning of the year it became known that of all CEOs that lead the Fortune 500 list in 2018, only 24 people are women.
