Maya Kawana (43) is making waves in Japan—not because she's the daughter of SoftBank founder (see Market Bit) Masayoshi Son, but precisely because she's not the one taking over the family empire.
"SoftBank doesn't belong to the family. My successor will be chosen by merit, not by blood."
Her path: After Goldman Sachs, she became a housewife, then founded her own consulting firm for fashion brands. Now she advises biotech startup Spiber, which produces sustainable fibers from spider proteins.
What she's planning at Spiber: "I'm not chasing an IPO. I want to help build a genuine global biotech player." The company is technically brilliant but weak in marketing—that's exactly where she comes in.
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