 SHaZIa aWaN, 28 The market for stretchy, body-shaping underwear may be tightly packed, but awan knew she could do it better. Since launching her Peachy Pink range in 2009, turnover has rocketed, sometimes doubling or tripling month on month. She now sells to 20 countries.  aNNa BaNCE, 30 Every girl knows the problem of finding the perfect frock. But with Girl Meets Dress, Bance, once a PR manager at fashion house Temperley who dressed Kate Winslet and Natalie Imbruglia, has found the solution: instead of spending hard-earned cash on designer gear, rent it for a fraction of the price. Since the company was launched in 2009, it has gained legions of fans - not least the style bible Vogue, which called it "the answer to all your prayers".  JO BEHaRI, 32 Behari started her property maintenance company, Home Jane, which employs only tradeswomen, in 2006. More recently, she co-founded the Goodlife Centre, teaching the art of DIY. Behari has also co-presented the Channel 4 show Make, Do and Mend.  KaTE BENTLEY, 28, and HaYLEY MaRSDEN 31 Bentley and Marsden collaborated on their first fashion project - a head-to-toe vintage clothing and stylist service - while holding down full-time jobs. Bentley is a criminal defence lawyer, runs a vintage frock shop with her husband and acts as a consultant for the premium skincare and cosmetic range arbonne. Marsden is an art textiles teacher as well as a milliner. Her headwear is sold in two upmarket boutiques in Liverpool, her hats have been featured in Vogue and she was involved in this year's Comic Relief alongside Dame Vivienne Westwood. Fans of Bentley and Marsden include the designer Zandra Rhodes.  SOPHIE BIRSHaN, 33 This Cambridge graduate is director of strategy at Mothercare. Formerly an engagement manager at McKinsey and a policy analyst at No 10 under Tony Blair, she joined the retailer, which turns over ?790m a year, early in 2010. She runs customer relationship teams for its Early Learning Centre and Gurgle brands.  JaNE BURSTON, 30 Burston's Carbon Retirement is an attempt to make the challenge of carbon offsetting more effective by buying up carbon credits to remove them from the EU trading scheme. Fans include Richard Ellis, head of corporate social responsibility at alliance Boots, and Joseph Romm, who was environmental adviser to Bill Clinton when he was the US president.  ROSaLIND CaMPION, 31 after training as a commercial lawyer, Campion decided she would prefer to work in the civil service. She is now head of the newly established Office of the Sentencing Council. She lists a spell at Soca (Serious Organised Crime agency) and a stint in Syria as a human rights lawyer on her CV. She will be leading a drive for more consistent sentencing.  aIMEE DI MaRCO, 32 With degrees from Cambridge and Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, Di Marco is a specialist registrar in general surgery with Imperial College NHS trust in London and is at the leading edge of robotic surgery. She received the best clinical care award at St Mary's and Imperial College in 2009. She is also medical officer for all Stars Boxing Gym.  NaTaLIE DUNN, 26 as senior advertising manager for J Sainsbury, Dunn controls a budget that runs into tens of millions of pounds and is responsible for managing the relationship with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. The Lancaster University graduate worked her way up at the supermarket - she started on the checkout, aged 16.  KaTHRINa FITZGERaLD, 32 a former investment banker at JP Morgan, where she spent seven years in corporate finance, FitzGerald began working for the media giant DMGT in 2007 and was promoted to director of strategy development in 2009. a competitor through and through, she enjoys triathlons, windsurfing and horse-riding.  HaYLEY GaIT-GOLDING, 31 aerobics enthusiast Gait-Golding is an evangelist for healthy living. Her company, Bear, makes wholesome snacks with "no added nonsense". Bear, launched in 2009, now has a turnover of ?3.5m and its products are stocked in Waitrose, Holland &amp; Barrett and the Co-op. She runs the firm with her husband, a former professional cricketer.  CLaRE GILMaRTIN, 35 German-speaking Gilmartin joined eBay UK in 2003 and has worked her way up to become vice-president of marketplaces, Europe. She is responsible for a team of 250 that supports eBay Europe's 50m buyers and 500,000 registered businesses. In her spare time, the mother of two is a marathon runner.  CaROLINa GONZaLEZBUNSTER, 28 after quitting Goldman Sachs, Gonzalez-Bunster set up the Walkabout Foundation, inspired by her paralysed brother. The charity donates wheelchairs to the disabled in developing countries. She has supporters in high places: her 35 Women Under 35 entry included a recommendation from Bill Clinton.  aNNMaRIE HaRRIS, 33 australian-born Harris was a founder of Nude skincare. Despite offering fewer than 20 products, the firm generates $2m to $4m in revenues annually, retails in 200 locations in Britain, america and australia and was sold to LVMH this year. She is now working on a men's skincare line, due to be launched in New York next year.  KaTE HENDERSON, 31 as the first female (and youngest) chief executive at the Town and Country Planning association, Henderson plays a leading role in shaping planning policy around social justice and environmental demands. She has a master's in environmental technology from Imperial and a first class degree in geology from UCL.  KaTE HERSOV, 30 This New Zealand-born paediatrician founded Medikidz with Kim Chilman-Blair in 2009. Their aim is to educate children about a wide range of medical conditions, from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to scoliosis. Since its launch, presided over by archbishop Desmond Tutu, Medikidz has published 40 themed comic book titles, distributed 1m copies worldwide, grown to a staff of 25 and counts corporate giants such as Johnson &amp; Johnson, Pfizer and GE Healthcare among its partners.  LUCY HUTCHINGS, 29 The jewellery designer is based in London but her inspiration comes from growing up in Suffolk. Hutchings honed her skills at the Erickson Beamon studio before creating her own high-end jewellery range, which is now endorsed by Swarovski and stocked in Liberty, Harvey Nichols and Harrods. Its fans include Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga and Cheryl Cole.  DEBRa LaM, 29 Lam joined the engineering and consultancy firm arup in 2007 and specialises in climate change, sustainability and low-carbon issues. Fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, she is advising the Vietnamese government on managing its carbon footprint. Lam contributed to a report for the World Economic Forum presented at Davos this year.  JULIE DIEM LE, 34 Diem Le was an eye surgeon before she began her business, Zoobug, producing safe sunglasses for children in 2006. The idea came to her when she couldn't find a pair of shades for her niece that were both safe and (crucially) cool. The company has come a long way since then: Le's glasses are sold in 21 countries and she is working on Olympics-themed eyewear for next year.  aNGELa LEMOS, 29 With a degree in statistics from UCL, Lemos made short work of the career ladder, becoming director of financial trading at Dresdner Kleinwort at 27. Now executive director, financials trading desk at Nomura, Lemos provides market commentary and valuation and credit quality advice to institutions and hedge funds.  SOPHIE LIVINGSTONE, 34 a winning combination of third-sector vision and private-sector savvy, Livingstone made her name running the Private Equity Foundation, a financial sector children's charity. She is now chief executive of City Year London, a volunteering programme for high-flyers in the Square Mile, and joined President Barack Obama's entourage during his visit.  LIZ McCaRTHY, 34 In 2008, McCarthy co-founded audacity, a communications agency that counts BT, Malibu and Unilever as clients and has billings of more than ?25m. She has worked in the industry for 12 years, and spent five years running a nightclub in Brixton, London.  HaNNaH McCaUGHEY, 34 McCaughey has been at the forefront of research on climate change and low-carbon energy investment for 10 years. as well as responsibility for one of the largest windfarms in Europe, she heads Centrica's piece of a ?2.3 billion joint venture with EDF to build four nuclear power plants. Her first child was born last year.  LYSSa McGOWaN, 33 after Oxford and Harvard Business School, McGowan became customer strategy director for BSkyB. She runs partnership businesses that deliver tens of millions in annual revenues to the broadcaster. a mother of two, her third child is on the way this summer.  LOUISa MOGER, 34 When Moger became managing director of the family printing business, Richard Edward, in 2002, it was at crisis point with ?2.2m of debt and high client attrition rates. after a strategy overhaul led by her, the company has paid off most of its debts and now turns over ?5.3m a year. She has two daughters and also runs her own consultancy.  STEPHaNIE NIVEN, 27 after taking a double first in history at Oxford in 2005, Niven joined Goldman Sachs, becoming an investment analyst. Four years later she helped set up Goldman-owned Javelin Capital, a hedge fund with assets of ?157m, where she is the portfolio manager. Last year, she completed an Ironman triathlon.  MISHa PaTEL, 31 Previously a mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Clifford Chance, Patel recently rose to assistant general counsel at KPMG. She has advised blue-chip companies including aBN, Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and accenture and will continue to work on mergers and acquisitions at KPMG. The UCL graduate has been recognised by Financial News as a rising star.  aLEXaNDRa POPa, 28 In 2007 Popa launched Bordelle, an underwear range inspired by S&amp;M. Her big break came when a substantial order was placed for Britney Spears' Circus tour. Selfridges followed and within a day of her couture girdles hitting the shopfloor they sold out. Popa and her creative partner sell to more than 30 countries, and fans include Lady Gaga.  aLEX PUMFREY, 32 With a ?22m budget and a team of 66, Pumfrey is the programme director of Digital UK, the organisation set up by broadcasters to make the switch from analogue to digital TV as pain-free as possible. Pumfrey is a keen athlete, competing in half-marathons and triathlons.  ZU RaFaLaT, 29 Rafalat founded Zuneta, described by 