Some women have been regulars on the list, some have moved on and off as they have taken on different roles or as FN’s coverage has shifted in response to market trends, others have
retired from the industry.

As FN prepares to publish its 18th list on 14 October, we take a look at some of the familiar names from early lists and where they are now.

Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted, member of the House of Lords

A member of European Parliament for nine years and chair of its Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee for five of those, Bowles stepped down from the role in 2014.

Once voted the most influential Briton in Europe for her role at the helm of the committee through the eurozone crisis, she was a staunch campaigner for Remain in the
Brexit referendum.

In 2012 she applied to be Bank of England governor but lost out to Mark Carney and in 2019 she entered the running to replace Sir Win Bischoff as head of the Financial Reporting Council but was also unsuccessful. In 2015 she became a Liberal Democrat peer. She is also a non-executive director of the London Stock Exchange.

List appearances 2010-13

Karen Cook, co-chair of investment banking, Goldman Sachs

Dubbed the “queen of M&A”, Karen Cook has spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs and in that time has worked on some of its biggest and most high-profile deals. They include Cadbury’s sale to US rival Kraft in 2011, Verizon’s $130bn deal with Vodafone in 2013 and BG Group’s sale in 2016 to Royal Dutch Shell for $70bn.

Cook spent a few years as a civil servant in the Foreign Office before entering banking. After completing an MBA at Manchester University she joined First National Bank of Chicago.

In 1988 she moved to Schroders where she started making a name for herself before
joining Goldman in 1999 where she later became president of its business in Europe. She was named co-chair of investment banking in 2015, taking a step back into a role that involves maintaining relationships with key clients.

List appearances 2007-08, 2012-15

Dame Elizabeth Corley, chair, Impact Investing Institute; chair, Schroders

Dame Elizabeth Corley served as CEO for Europe and then globally at Allianz Global Investors between 2005 and 2016. She stayed on as a senior adviser, stepping down in 2018.

She is currently chair of both FTSE 100 manager Schroders and the Impact Investing Institute, which she set up in 2019 after a UK government-mandated review of social impact investing.

The organisation works to raise awareness of impact investing through research and
advocating for regulations that will support the sector. Before joining Allianz GI Corley was
head of distribution for Emea and Asia at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and before that she was a partner at Coopers & Lybrand Management Consulting.

List appearances 2007-19

Dame Clara Furse, chair, HSBC UK

Dame Clara Furse was the first female chief executive of the London Stock Exchange between 2001 and 2009. Prior to that she was group chief executive of Credit Lyonnais Rouse, the derivatives trading arm of the French bank, from 1998 to 2000 and also served
in various global markets roles.

As head of the LSE she defended the UK exchange against hostile takeover attempts from rivals including Deutsche Börse and Euronext. She oversaw its £1.1bn acquisition of Italy’s Borsa Italiana in 2007.

In 2008 she was made a dame in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her contribution to
financial services. She is now chair of HSBC UK and a non-executive director of Assicurazioni Generali.

List appearances 2007-08

Find out who makes this year’s 100 Most Influential Women in Finance on 14 October by signing up to our lists and awards newsletter.

Do you have a story for Financial News? Get in touch confidentially on tips@financialnews.co.uk