Name: Melinda Gates
Current Company: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Title: Co-Founder and Co-Chair

Profile: Melinda Gates has a lot more going for her than one of the world's biggest fortunes. She and her husband have teamed to revolutionize the world of vaccine and drug development, leveraging their billions to help create a market for shots that will save millions of lives.

Gates, though, doesn't just hand out cash. She has been instrumental in capturing the commitment of some of the world's biggest drug makers to focus on malaria, one of many diseases that have traditionally been ignored. And she's been entirely focused on results, pushing to get the kind of data on new therapies that will make a huge difference in big populations for decades to come. While often inevitably overshadowed by her mogul husband, Gates commands respect in her own right. Her agenda makes her a revolutionary as well as a visionary in a field that has a bad need for both. Her track record speaks for itself.