World Beaters

LINDA BARTLETT Marriott's Merger Maven
She led Marriott International's streamlining effort and produced impressive results. By using the Web to expedite tasks like expense reporting and by securing better prices from vendors, she helped Marriott save some $40 million a year. The company just promoted Bartlett, 44, to a bigger job, where her eye for bargains should come in handy: head of mergers and acquisitions.

KAI-UWE RICKE Telecom Titan
The new CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Ricke, 41, has swiftly shaken up the debt-burdened telephone giant: he eliminated three board positions and added two division heads to give those closest to the markets more influence. He's also considering reducing DT's stake in T-Mobile USA (formerly VoiceStream) to shift some debt off the balance sheet. Investors hope Ricke can duplicate the magic he performed as DT's wireless boss in Germany, where he recaptured market leadership from Vodaphone.

MAGGIE WILDEROTTER Technology Trailblazer
After starting in accounts receivable at a software firm, she rose rapidly in the telecom industry and eventually built Wink Communications into the world's largest interactive-TV service. Now Wilderotter, 47, is the highest-ranking woman at Microsoft; she was just named senior VP of business strategy and given a mandate to increase sales to governments and schools.

TREVOR O'HOY King of Beers
A former Australian Rules Football pro, O'Hoy, 47, is tackling a new challenge. Foster's Group recently appointed him managing director of Carlton and United Breweries, the Australian beer, spirits and hotel division responsible for more than half the group's operating earnings. As CFO, he helped Foster's buy Beringer Wine Estates of Napa Valley for $1.5 billion. Insiders say a strong performance in his new job will make O'Hoy the likely successor to Foster's CEO, Ted Kunkel, 59.

AHMASS FAKAHANY Bullish on the World
Born in Cairo and reared in Geneva and London, Fakahany, 44, persuaded his father to send him to Boston University. But work put him back overseas. Fakahany spent 10 years as Merrill Lynch's CFO for Asia and controller for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After boosting revenues last year in areas like foreign exchange as COO of the firm's global-markets and investment-banking business, Fakahany was named CFO for all of Merrill.