OCBC chief Helen Wong joins Ho Ching, Jenny Lee on Forbes' 100 most powerful women list

This year, three Singaporeans have been named in Forbes Magazine's 100 most powerful women list which was released on Wednesday (Dec 11).

Among them is OCBC chief Helen Wong, who came in at number 59.

Wong, who became Group CEO in 2021 and a director of the bank's board in 2023, is drawing upon four decades of banking experience to lead OCBC, which recorded $13.5 billion in total income for the fiscal year of 2023, Forbes said.

She is also a council member of the Association of Banks and the Institute of Banking and Finance in Singapore.

Also on the list is Ho Ching, chairman of Temasek Trust, which is responsible for Temasek Holdings’ philanthropic endowments.

This year, she ranked number 32, one spot up from her previous ranking in 2023.

The 71-year-old was the CEO of Singapore global investment company Temasek Holdings from 2004 to 2021 and helped its portfolio grow to more than US$313 billion, said Forbes.

She also opened offices in San Francisco in 2018 and "poured over a quarter of Temasek's money into sectors like life sciences, tech and agribusiness", it added.

Jenny Lee, a Senior Managing Partner at Granite Asia, is another familiar name on the list.

Having placed 97th last year, 51-year-old Lee went up a spot in 2024.

She is considered a "trailblazer in her field", with a portfolio of 21 companies valued at more than US$1 billion each and having facilitated 16 IPOs, including one in 2023 and two in 2021, Forbes stated.

Lee was also the first woman to reach top 10 in the Forbes' Midas List 2012, which is an annual ranking of the most influential and best-performing venture capital investors.

Retaining the top spot of the most powerful woman in the world is Dr Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

Forbes highlighted that she is the first woman to serve in her role and is "responsible for legislation affecting more than 450 million Europeans".

Pop stars Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Rihanna placed 23, 35 and 76 respectively.

The 2024 most powerful women list was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence, stated Forbes in its methodology.

Gross domestic products and populations were considered for political leaders, while revenues, valuations, and employee counts were critical for corporate chiefs.

Media mentions and social reach were analyzed for all, Forbes said.

The result was a list of 100 women who command a collective US$33 trillion in economic power and influence – either by policy or example – more than one billion people.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

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