MICHELINE CHAU Star Warrior
When she joined Lucasfilm as CFO in 1991, Chau, 50, brought order to the movie-magic empire built by Star Wars creator George Lucas. The company has grown into a $1.5 billion special-effects, production and computer-game powerhouse. Recently promoted to COO, Chau will work to turn Lucasfilm's disparate units into an ensemble cast--encouraging the movie-effects team at Industrial Light & Magic, say, to collaborate more closely with online game designers. A native of Singapore, Chau's favorite Star Wars hero is Yoda.
JEFF VALDEZ TV Hombre
As a stand-up comic, Valdez used to joke about the dearth of English-language...