Business has long been thought to be a man’s world. Let’s face it they have dominated the business arena for decades, however, there were women who were determined to not be relegated to a homemaker, teacher, or secretary; forged ahead and blazed trails. They created a lane for themselves in a world monopolized by their male counterparts and made it possible for other women to follow their exampled. These women are respected not just as formidable women executives or female titans of industry but as formidable executives and titans of industry. Their genders have become an afterthought. To be fair, there is still a ways to go, in terms of the respect that a woman commands compared to a man in the business world, but if these women are any indication, it is short ways.

Indra Nooyi is the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. In her short tenure, Nooyi purchased PepsiCo’s two largest bottlers and revenues are expected to exceed 60 billion.

Irene Rosenfeld is the Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, in 2009 with the purchase of candy maker Cadbury, Kraft revenues soared to 48 billion.

Patricia Woertz is the president, CEO, and Chairman of Archer Daniels Midland (the world’s largest corn processor). With Woertz at the helm, Archer stock (ADM) has increased to over 13 within the past year.

Oprah Winfrey, Chairman of Harpo and OWN. What is there left to say about this media titan? She left her wildly popular daytime show The Oprah Winfrey show after 25 years, to start her own network, OWN.

Andrea Jung is the Chairman and CEO of Avon Products. She also sits on the board of Apple and GE.

Angela Bray is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Wellpoint, a health insurer that insures more Americans than any other company.

Ellen Kullman is the Chairman and CEO of DuPont, the chemical giant. She reorganized the business and now sales are up.