Self-Made Women 2020 – Asia’s 10 most Influential and Powerful Business Women

Leadership has been continually tested this year where worldwide pandemic has confronted almost every piece of life. In these difficult times, on the 2020 Asia’s Power Businesswomen list the 25-business leader have risen to that experiment and are indicative of their fortitude.

A wide range of industries have been represented by our listed this year from fintech, edtech and biotech to more traditional sectors such as logistics, regulation and trades. Success is track recorded by each one of them whether its founding a start-up valued at over $1 billion or running a company with sizable revenues.

Melanie Perkins

• Age: 33
• Designation: Co-Founder and CEO
• Establishment: Canva
• Belonging Nation: Austrailia

Perkins an alum of Forbes 2016- as Under 30 Asia co-founded Canva, with Cameron Adams and Cliff Obrecht (now her fiancé) in 2013 whilst she was an Undergrad at the University of Western Australia. The graphic design software company with the latest round has raised more than $300 million in June at $60 million that is valued at $6 billion.

Zhao Yan

• Age: 54
• Designation: Chairman and General Manager
• Establishment: Bloomage Technology
• Belonging Nation: China

The world’s largest manufacturer of hyaluronic acid-, that is used in pharmaceuticals, nutrition complements and makeups is named as Bloomage BioTechnology which was bought by Zhao in 2001 . Now it is sharing a third of global market share.

Lily Kong

• Age: 55
• Designation: President
• Establishment: Singapore Management University
• Belonging Nation: Singapore

Kong, is the first women to lead one of the island-state’s top university and the fifth president of Singapore Management University. In 2019, Kong took the helm of SMU University who was a geography professor in 2011 that helped set up the Yale-NUS College between Yale University and the National University of Singapore.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra

• Age: 38
• Designation: Chairperson
• Establishment: HCL Technologies
• Belonging Nation: India

Shiv Nadar who just turned 75, handed over the charge of Chairperson to her daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra in mid of July. This 38 years enthusiast lady is the only child of HCL Founder who paid her dues before this long-planned succession. With this Noida, India based company; she has been an executive for 12 years in which last were as vice chairperson.

Caroline Russell

• Age: 58
• Designation: Executive Chairman and CEO
• Establishment: BOH Plantation
• Belonging Nation: Malaysia

In 1929, an ancestral firm, BOH that stands for “Best of Highlands” a reference to Malaysia’s tea-growing highlands was established by Russell’s grandfather. By productivity, Malaysia’s largest tea producer is also the third generation leaded by Russell. About 70% of Malaysia’s tea output i.e. 4.5 million kilograms of tea is been produced by the family owned business that has four plantation spread over 1200 h.a.

Preeyanart Soontornwata

• Designation: President and CEO
• Establishment: B. Grimm Power
• Belonging Nation: Thailand

Preeyanart, has grown the power unit of Thai multinational B. Grimm into a $3.7 billion company over the past two decades that operates 47 power plants in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos and oversaw its IPO in 2017 with five more in development. Its net-profit rushed more than 60% in the second quarter ending in June year-on-year that increased manufacturing customers and production capacity, B. Grimm Power has been perturbed by Covid-19.

Aya Komaki

• Age: 60
• Designation: President and CEO
• Establishment: Sonrio Entertainment
• Belonging Nation: Japan

Komaki’s profession has been an extensive round-trip. By Japan’s prestigious university she joined Sanrio of Hello Kitty fame; there she earned master’s in education while in 1984 she quit to raise a family. She returned to the company after loss of one of her children adding with a divorce. To become board director in 2015 at Sanrio Entertainment following with Sanrio’s amusement subsidiary and next year she was put in charge of its Puroland theme park.

Samantha Du

• Age: 56
• Designation: Founder, Chairperson and CEO
• Establishment: Zai Lab
• Belonging Nation: China

Shanghai based Pharma Company Zai Lab,is leaded by the 56 years old tycoon whose market capital of $6 billion has increased threefold. Its IPO was valued at Nasdaq in 2017. Du is a force to be estimated by its China’s increasing pharmaceutical market; also her success is distinct to Covid-19. The company has filed a subordinate listing in Hong Kong but size or pricing of planned subscription hasn’t yet announced.

Divya Gokulnath

• Age: 32
• Designation: Co-Founder
• Establishment: Byju’s
• Belonging Nation: India

Due to this pandemic where students were stuck at home and schools were having online classes, Gokulnath had her hands full. Gokulnath said, “We’ve supplemented 20 billion students just in previous four months”. She oversees content, brand marketing and user experience at Edtech Company Byju’s that offers online courses for K-12 students. Almost a period ago, as teaching business school candidates were struggling with math and science, Divya and her husband Byju saw the need for an app to educate high school-age students.

Yoon-Sun Yang

• Age: 41
• Designation: Founder and CEO
• Establishment: Medipost
• Belonging Nation: South Korea

In 2000, Yang realized the stamina of umbilical cord stem cells at a well-known Seoul hospital. Stem cells that are important in treating illness and injuries are present in Umbilical cord. Yang left her job to establish Medipost that year that offered blood research, storage and therapy. In 2005, in an IPO on Korea’s Kosdaq exchange, Medipost raised 16.5 billion and won $14 million. With last sales rating 46 billion, current valuation is $470 billion.