World Beaters

By Victoria Rainert/New York, Mairi Brahim and Jennie James/London, Stella Kim/Seoul, Tim Larimer/ Tokyo, Charles P. Wallace and Regine Wosnitza/Berlin

CLARA FURSE stock-exchange chief

Shortly after her appointment early this year as the first woman chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Furse, 43 and the mother of three, was named third on a Wall Street Journal list of Europe's most powerful women. She is a former top executive for Credit Lyonnais Rouse and speaks five languages. Fond of pastel suits and designer eyewear, Furse is described by colleagues as at once charming and ruthless. Both qualities will come in handy as she takes over an institution that is still very much an old-boys' club.

WILFRED HORIE banker in South Korea

Wilfred Horie, 55, a Japanese American trained in the U.S., last year became the first foreigner to head a South Korean bank (Korea First Bank). Now he is also the first banker to refuse a government directive to help bail out ailing South Korean companies. He said it was against his bank's "risk policy." Horie has also broken with Korean traditions of hierarchy by lunching with low-ranking employees and seeking out their views.

CARLOS GHOSN Nissan CEO

At 47, the Brazilian-born Ghosn is widely admired for his revival of Nissan. Lately he's a fashion role model for Japanese executives. The stocky, thin-haired CEO doesn't look like GQ material. But profiles in Japanese media have focused as much on his dark, stylishly tailored suits, colorful ties and rimless eyewear as on his management skills. Masakatsu Ochiai, a Tokyo fashion writer, says traditionally staid Japanese businessmen think that "if they can dress like Ghosn, they will be like him."

LUIS FIGO soccer millionaire

Think you've got a big tax bill? Consider the plight of Luis Figo. The soccer star was acquired last year by the Spanish team Real Madrid, which agreed to pay him $4 million a year and bought out his contract by paying archrival Barcelona a world record $56 million. Spanish tax authorities have not normally considered the funds for such buyouts to be income taxable to the athlete. But Barcelona--smarting from the loss of its best player--initially indicated it had received the funds from Figo rather than Real Madrid, which attracted the attention of tax officials, Spanish newspapers reported. If the $56 million were to be treated as income to Figo, the tax bill could hit $32 million. Even if the teams restructure the transaction, the tax collectors may find it hard to let go.

RENATE KUNAST new Agriculture Minister

With her Green Party credentials, punk hairstyle and penchant for Rollerblading, Kunast, 45, has made quite a splash as Germany's new Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture. Amid devastating epidemics of foot-and-mouth and mad-cow disease, Kunast--a lawyer with no prior experience in agriculture--wants to reform European subsidies so they will encourage less crowded, less intensive farming practices that are healthier for animals and consumers.

By Victoria Rainert/New York, Mairi Brahim and Jennie James/London, Stella Kim/Seoul, Tim Larimer/Tokyo, Charles P. Wallace and Regine Wosnitza/Berlin