PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi Tops FORTUNEs List of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business for Second Year in a Row

Fortune Magazine ranked these women executives at for-profit companies based on the size, importance, and health of their business in the global economy; career momentum; and social and cultural influence.

Noting the reason for Nooyis top rating, Fortune Magazine notes: All the arrows are pointing in the right direction, with revenues ($35.1 billion), operating profits ($6.4 billion), and earnings per share ($3) all rising strongly last year. The 2001 Quaker Foods acquisition, in which Nooyi played a key role, is working out well, and Pepsi International, a priority for the company and a particular interest for the Indian-born Nooyi, is coming on strong too; its revenues rose 14%, to $13 billion, and operating profits rose 21%, to $1.9 billion. Oh, and in May, Nooyi added the title of chairman to her own portfolio.

Rounding out the top ten are: Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO, Xerox (No. 2); Meg Whitman, President and CEO, EBay (No. 3); Angela Braly, President and CEO, Wellpoint (No. 4); Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO, Kraft Foods (No. 5); Pat Woertz, Chairman, CEO, and President, Archer Daniels Midland (No. 6); Susan Arnold, President, Global Business Units, Procter & Gamble (No. 7); Oprah Winfrey, Chairman, Harpo (No. 8); Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon Products (No. 9); and Brenda Barnes, Chairman and CEO, Sara Lee (No. 10).

When the list debuted in 1998, it featured only three CEOs of publicly held companies--Jill Barad of Mattel, Marjorie Scardino of Pearson, and Linda Wachner of Warnaco. Now there are 13 CEOs, with 16 more on the international list. In 1998 it took oversight of about $1 billion to make the cut; today its closer to $6 billion, FORTUNE editor-at-large Patricia Sellers says in her introduction to the list. ...What changed? The competition got tougher as more female talent threaded its way up the hierarchy. What hasnt changed is the rigor that informs the rankings.

New arrivals to the 2007 list include: Angela Braly, President and CEO, Wellpoint (No. 4); Sue Decker, President, Yahoo (returning to the list at No. 20); Diane Greene, CEO, VMware (No .22); Cece Sutton, EVP & Head of Retail and Small Business Banking, Wachovia (No. 28); Sheryl Sandberg, VP, Global Online Sales and Operations, Google (No. 29); Claire Brabowski, EVP and COO, Toys R Us (No. 37).