2. The Banking Ambassador

Last year, she accompanied Swiss president Ueli Maurer to Asia as well as the Gulf region and even represented him at the Madrid climate conference: wherever Swiss banks smell money, a diplomat is usually there to help things along – Stoffel took over as Switzerland's top finance diplomat in January.

Whether thorny bilateral relationships like China or Saudi Arabia, in advancing sustainable finance themes, or dealing with long-running disputes like a European Union framework agreement: Stoffel has her work cut out for her.