No. 1. Indra Nooyi :: 50 Most Powerful Women

1. Indra Nooyi

In 1998 when the Most Powerful Women in Business

list premiered, just two of our honorees ran Fortune 500 companies. This year 13 do.

Chairman and CEOPepsiCo (PEP)
2008 rank: 1
Age: 53

She's back on top for the fourth year, delivering strong profits on $43 billion in sales. Her August deal to buy Pepsi's two biggest bottlers should produce some $300 million in annual cost savings. One weak spot: Consumers panned the rebranding of Gatorade and Tropicana.

Andrea Jung Angela Braly Brenda BarnesCarol Bartz Ellen Kullman Ginni RomettyIndra Nooyi Irene Rosenfeld Oprah WinfreyPat Woertz Safra Catz Ursula Burns