World Beaters

By Nellie Huang/Hong Kong; Pelin Turgut/Istanbul; Bruce Crumley/Paris

Raymond C. Lee HIGHFLYER

In Hong Kong, travel almost always requires hopping onto a plane. Enter Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, a start-up budget carrier founded by Raymond C. Lee, 49, a property developer who is investing in the venture along with VTech Holdings chairman Allan Wong. Lee has a distinctive plan to compete with other upstarts like Tiger Airways in Singapore and AirAsia in Malaysia: fly to European cities--perhaps Berlin, Brussels, Milan, Vienna--where no other Asian airline goes direct. "Instead of trying to steal someone else's lunch, we're creating a market where a market does not even exist," says Lee. --By Nellie Huang/Hong Kong

Gueler Sabanci BARRIER BREAKER

Sabanci makes history daily as the first woman heading a conglomerate in a conservative, largely Muslim society. Turkish billionaire Sakip Sabanci chose his niece last May to succeed him at the helm of the $12 billion Sabanci Holdings, whose businesses include food, energy and retail. Renowned as an internationalist for forging a $100 million joint venture with DuPont, the charismatic Gueler plans to further Sabanci's global reach. What's it like being a woman in a man's world? "It was hard for the first five years. But once I got over that psychological hurdle, there was no stopping me!" she says. --By Pelin Turgut/Istanbul

Franc,ois-Henri Pinault Jr. LUXURY TYCOON

French executive Franc,ois-Henri Pinault is following in the footsteps of his tycoon papa Franc,ois. This month Pinault Jr., 42, was appointed chairman of the $22 billion luxury-goods and retail empire PPR, founded by Pinault Sr. in 1963. He takes over from Serge Weinberg, who led PPR's diversification into luxury goods with the purchase of the Gucci group in 2001. Though Pinault is the scion of France's third wealthiest family--which owns a 42% controlling interest in PPR--he has also headed several PPR units. Instead of the nickname Daddy's Boy, he has earned a new moniker: Boss. --By Bruce Crumley/Paris