Güler Sabancı only Turk named on global list of most powerful women

ISTANBUL

Sabancı Holding Chair Güler Sabancı is the only Turkish name in Forbes magazine’s latest list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. 

Sabancı is listed at number 58 in the 2017 list, up 12 places from last year.

In an introduction brief for the launch of this year’s list on Nov. 1, Forbes noted that she is the first woman to run Sabancı Holding, which is the second-largest conglomerate in Turkey, with holdings spanning banking, energy, retail and insurance. It also said she is the founding president of Sabancı University and the chair of the Sabancı Foundation, Turkey’s largest private charity.

“Despite the July 2016 coup attempt, the company helped construct a new coal-fired power plant, the largest in Turkey, and unveiled a 100 percent domestically produced electric bus,” the magazine added.

Merkel tops list again

German Chancellor Angela Merkel retained the top spot in this year’s class of female leaders - for the seventh consecutive year and after 12 times in total. Merkel is followed at No. 2 by an unexpected newcomer, U.K. Prime Theresa May, who is leading her country through Brexit, which Forbes describes as a “historic, complex and transformative time for the country and the European Union.”

May is followed by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who, along with her husband Bill, has distributed more than $40 billion in grants to date and supports organizations in over 100 countries. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (No. 4) and GM CEO Mary Barra (No. 5) round out the top five.

In the No. 19 spot, U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is the second highest-ranked newcomer after May.

This year’s list features 48 women from the U.S. and several newcomers from other nations.