Businesswomen in Asia-Pacific are stepping up and taking the helm in industries with no shortage of challenges. As economic uncertainties continue to loom over businesses everywhere, these 20 women have been entrusted to lead enterprises, investment firms and family businesses to continuous growth and stability.

This list features a number of industry veterans who set precedent by becoming the first women to step into these roles at their companies. Some have taken on booming industries including EVs and server hardware production to meet growing demand, while others are running property developers and steering them through tough market conditions. The entrants this year represent a new generation of businesswomen with bold strategies, who are ready to face any difficulties head-on. They were chosen for their accomplishments and proven success as leaders in the business world.

Edited by Rana Wehbe Watson

Research and reporting: Jonathan Burgos, Gloria Haraito, John Kang, Naazneen Karmali, Zinnia Lee, Anuradha Raghunathan, Ian Sayson, James Simms, Cat Thomas, Catherine Wang, Yue Wang, Jennifer Wells and Ardian Wibisono.

Courtesy of Telstra

In two years at the helm of Telstra, Vicki Brady has refocused Australia’s largest telecom by market share on its core business of connecting people while championing its AI ambitions. Under her guidance, Telstra has said it will invest up to A$1.6 billion ($1 billion) over the five years to 2027, partly to expand its national fiber network, which U.S. tech giant Microsoft has agreed to use to extend its AI infrastructure in Australia.

Brady is also working to improve earnings and customer service, and digitalize operations. In May she cut 2,800 jobs, more than 10% of total staff, a move expected to result in cost reductions of A$350 million by end-2025. Also by next year, she plans to transfer 90% of Telstra’s applications to the public cloud and use AI to enhance all its key business processes. The company’s net profit slumped 13% to A$1.8 billion in the year to June 30, partly on layoff-related charges.

Brady joined Telstra in 2016 as a group managing director, rising to chief financial officer in 2019. Previously she worked at rival telecom Optus and its parent, Singapore Telecommunications, and accounting firm KPMG.

Lam Yik/Bloomberg

Bonnie Chan is the first female CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), operator of Hong Kong’s stock exchange, where she is helping rejuvenate a moribund bourse. In the first quarter of this year, IPOs in Hong Kong raised $610 million, the lowest level since 2009.

Now under this Harvard Law School graduate and Morgan Stanley alum, things are looking up. In the second quarter, 18 companies went public compared with 12 in the previous quarter, raising 79% more in funds. In September, Chinese home appliance maker Midea raised $4 billion, the largest Hong Kong listing in almost four years and the world’s second-biggest this year after logistics giant Lineage’s $5.1 billion IPO in New York in July. “I believe today’s listing is a great prelude for more mega deals to come,” Chan said in a LinkedIn post.She also championed a new rule called Chapter 18C, which allows specialist tech companies to list with a lower profit level. The first was QuantumPharm, an AI-powered drug discovery company also known as XtalPi, which raised $127 million in June.

Chan was previously head of IPO transactions at HKEX from 2007 to 2010, and rejoined the exchange in 2020 as head of listings. She became co-chief operating officer in February 2023 (with Wilfred Yiu) and took over as CEO in March.

Courtesy of HKIC

Hong Kong Investment Corp.’s first CEO, Clara Chan, is charged with promoting and investing in industries that will keep Hong Kong competitive over the long term while generating returns. One major part of that mandate is to position Hong Kong as a global hub for high tech industries, such as AI and green technologies. HKIC was launched in 2022 with HK$62 billion ($8 billion) and Chan took up her new role in late 2023. Its first tie-ups include homegrown smart manufacturer SmartMore, which plans to launch a school to develop AI skills in the city, and Beijing-based robot maker Galbot, which will set up a R&D lab in Hong Kong. “We not only play the role of a connector of funds, gathering technology, talents and industries to catalyze the birth of startups, but we also occupy a position close to industry, to accompany and help startups grow,” Chan said in September.

Prior to HKIC, Chan, a qualified barrister, joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority as a manager of direct investments in 2010. She climbed through the ranks there to become executive director of monetary management in 2020, where she negotiated the HK$39 billion deal to bail out Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flag carrier, during the pandemic.

Courtesy of Chenbro Micom

Maggi Chen cofounded the Taiwan-listed company in 1983 with her husband, Leon Chen, and younger brother Frank. Over the next 30 years, she guided Chenbro Micom from designing computer chassis—the housing for a computer’s main parts—to manufacturing them, often taking on smaller, custom orders, and extending its manufacturing operations into China.

Chen recognized the growing demand for server chassis as the AI, 5G and cloud industries developed, and later redirected the company to focus on server chassis production. Today the company, which counts leading chipmaker Nvidia among its clients, is one of the world’s largest producers of chassis for servers. First-half revenue in 2024 jumped 53% to NT$6.4 billion ($198 million) year-on-year while net profit surged 176% to NT$833 million.

In 2020, Chen reshored some of its manufacturing to Taiwan. The company’s new NT$2.5 billion plant is in Chiayi County, next to Chen’s native Yunlin County, and is designed to resemble stacked servers. Chen, who came from a modest background in central Taiwan, served as the company’s president until 2013 and was named chairman in 2009. She graduated in 1977 from National Chengchi University’s Department of Money and Banking.

Courtesy of Kakao

In March, Shina Chung took the helm of Kakao, the tech giant behind the popular South Korean instant messaging app, becoming the company’s first female CEO. She takes on the role after a ten-year stint at the group’s venture investing arm. Chung was settling into the task of pursuing new growth when Kakao’s billionaire founder and chairman Kim Beom-su was arrested in July on charges of stock price manipulation connected with the group’s takeover of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment the previous year. Kim and........

© Forbes