Marina Berlusconi, the eldest daughter of Premier Silvio Berlusconi, is among the world's ten most powerful managers, according to an annual ranking published by Fortune magazine.
Marina Berlusconi, who is chairman of the Berlusconi family's Fininvest empire and head of Italy's largest publishing group Mondadori, claimed eighth place in the US business magazine's list of the 50 most powerful women managers.
The premier's 42-year-old daugher was the only Italian to make the list, which was topped by British manager Cynthia Carroll of Anglo American, the world's biggest mining group.
This summer she was also named the most powerful woman in Italy for the third year running in Forbes' annual rankings of women with clout.
Fininvest is an unlisted group worth an estimated 12 billion dollars, employing over 20,000 people and entirely owned by Berlusconi and his family.
Commercial TV network Mediaset is the jewel in the Fininvest crown but other prized assets include Mondadori, the financial services group Mediolanum and the AC Milan Serie A soccer club.
In March Silvio Berlusconi was unseated as Italy's richest man in the annual Forbes billionaires' list, dropping down to third behind confectionary king Michele Ferrero and Luxottica eyeglass tycoon Leonardo Del Vecchio.
The top ten managers in Fortune's 'Power 50' ranking are:
1. Cynthia Carroll (Anglo American) U.K.
2. Gail Kelly (Westpac) Australia
3. Linda Cook (Royal Dutch Shell) Netherlands
4. Ho Ching (Temasek Holdings) Singapore
5. Marjorie Scardino (Pearson) U.K.
6. Anne Lauvergeon (Areva) France
7. Annika Falkengren (SEB) Sweden
8. Marina Berlusconi (Fininvest) Italy
9. Guler Sabanci (Sabanci Holding) Turkey
10. Gulzhan Moldazhanova (Basic Element) Russia
