Company: Imperial Tobacco Group
Position: CEO
Global 500 Rank: 413
Alison Cooper was not intimidated when presented with the daunting task of filling the shoes of Gareth Davis, Imperial Tobacco's former chief executive, who had served in the role for 14 years. Cooper took the reins at the tobacco company in May 2010.
After leaving PriceWaterhouseCooper in 1999, Cooper moved to Imperial, where she has been working ever since. A mother and wife, Cooper has managed to balance work and home life, boosting Imperial's tobacco net revenues by 3% and their earnings per share up 7% in the first half of 2011, according to the company's mid-year report.
