Yan Xiaoyan (嚴曉燕)

Company: Bank of Beijing (北京銀行)

Headquarters: Beijing

Main focus: Banking

Title: President

Age: 61

2011 Rank: 23

With master's degrees in Money & Banking as well as in Management under her belt, Yan Xiaoyan worked for the Beijing branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for almost 20 years. In 1996, Yan moved to the Bank of Beijing and was promoted to the position of president in 2002. Yan currently also serves as director of the Beijing Federation of Industry & Commerce, director of the China Society for Finance and Banking, and standing director of the Beijing Society for Finance and Banking.

Until 2012, Yan has been working in the Bank of Beijing for 16 years. Thanks in large part to her contributions, the Bank of Beijing has survived the crippling consequences of making bad loans to become one of China's largest high-street banks. According to Yan, Bank of Beijing aims to establish 15 branches all over the country, with its total assets expected to be double the 2009 figures by the end of this year.