35. Christine Lagarde

Title: Managing director of the IMF

Country: France

Age: 59

Appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund in 2011, Christine Lagarde is the first woman to head the organization, which serves as the economic adviser and backstop for 188 countries. 

Along with the European Central Bank and the European Commission, the IMF under Lagarde has been preoccupied with propping up Greece's failing economy, which has required three bailouts in five years, the latest coming in August and requiring $95 billion of aid.

In November, Lagarde endorsed the Chinese yuan as an IMF reserve currency — a historic move that, if approved, would further cement China's rise as a top economic power.