Renee James President, Intel

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James is the No. 2 executive at Intel and seems to be everywhere these days, mainly thanks to her audacious goal to hit "full representation" of women and minorities at Intel by 2020 and have its workforce mimic actual demographics, which would mean a male-female ratio closer to 50-50. Intel has always rated high as a place for women in tech, but James is taking it further, and Intel is investing $300 million to reach its goal.

James, who has been described as "bullheaded, impatient, and very smart" by former Intel CEO Andy Grove, could be starting a model that might be duplicated by other tech companies in Silicon Valley, where women and minorities have historically been underrepresented.