HTC Corp (宏達電) cofounder and chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) ranked 20th on Forbes magazine’s latest list of the world’s 100 most powerful women.
Wang is the only Taiwanese on the list released on Wednesday. A “trend-spotter and entrepreneur,” Wang is credited with making a fortune as a handset contractor and expanding her wealth by launching her own brand, HTC, which makes one-fifth of the world’s smartphones, according to Forbes.
In March this year, the magazine also ranked Wang and her husband, Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦), president and CEO of silicon platform provider VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子), as Taiwan’s wealthiest couple, with a net worth of US$6.8 billion.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel — widely recognized as the “undisputed” leader of the EU — topped the list of power women.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came in second for her adept response to the Arab Spring and Wikileaks revelations of US classified diplomatic cables.
Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman, said in a statement that the list reflects the diverse and dynamic paths to power for women today, “whether leading a nation or setting the agenda on critical issues of our time.”
Eight heads of state and 29 chief executives made Forbes’ roster of the 100 most powerful women. They have an average age of 54 and collectively control US$30 trillion. Twenty-two are single.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff — the first woman to lead Latin America’s largest economic power — ranked third on the list.
Rounding out the top five were PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, who is credited with preparing the social network’s initial public offering, which could bring in as much as US$100 billion.
In related news, Wang will represent Taiwan’s industrial sector and speak at the Women and the Economy Summit to be held from Sept. 14 to Sept. 17 under the auspices of APEC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday.
The Sept. 16 session at the summit, to be held in San Francisco, will be hosted by Clinton, and Wang will speak on that occasion.
Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) will head the Taiwanese delegation to the summit.
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