5. Florence Schnydrig-Moser: CEO-To-Be?

The bilingual Valais native joins Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB) as its head of private banking this month but already looks like a candidate for the top job. Florence Schnydrig-Moser rapidly advanced through the ranks at Credit Suisse after earning a degree in math from Lausanne's prestigious technical university EPFL. She most recently ran the Swiss credit card firm Swisscard.

At ZKB, the 48-year-old represents a much-needed diversification of the local government-backed lender's C-suite: six of eight top managers are 58 or older; all are Swiss men and few of them have worked abroad. CEO Martin Scholl, in the job since 2007, is the longest-standing cantonal bank chief. If the 59-year-old signal his retirement plans this year, ZKB would do well to signal a glide path for Schnydrig-Moser into the job.