The Sexiest CEOs Alive!

When Larry Ellison announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of Oracle, Safra Catz and Mark Hurd were quick to step up, both as CEOs of the large software company.

The Israeli-born Catz, 52, joined Oracle in 1999 as a senior vice president and was serving as a president and CFO of Oracle when she was named a CEO. She's often cited as being the highest-paid female executive. Hurd, 57, formerly chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is also a president at Oracle. He joined the company in 2010.

The former co-president and director of Oracle Corporation, Phillips has risen from the ashes of an executive power play scandal. His new enterprise software company now poses a huge threat to Ellison's Oracle, as Infor hit almost $2.8 billion in revenues in 2013.

The 55-year-old is described as being "tall (6' 3"), graceful, and impeccably dressed" and poised to become "the 'Steve Jobs' of business software."

Bresch, 45, started started her career typing labels for Mylan's quality assurance program. Twenty years and 15 titles later, she's in the corner suite as the CEO of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

During her tenure, she's championed initiatives that give patients better access to medicine, particularly those battling HIV/AIDS. This summer Mylan secured a $5.3 billion all-stock deal to acquire Abbott Laboratories' non-U.S. developed generic drugs business.

The quintessential silver fox is perhaps best known as the CEO who kept his bank secure and profitable — and defended the industry’s honor — during the financial crisis.

Dimon, 58, is currently being treated for throat cancer and is, at the advice of Warren Buffet, watching lots of "Breaking Bad" through his recovery.

Houston, 31, came up with the idea for Dropbox after he forgot to bring a USB drive on a road trip. By the time he was 28, his file-storage startup announced a jawdropping $250 million funding round at a $4 billion valuation.

The MIT grad bears a striking resemblance to Elon Musk, the sexiest CEO who appears on this list.

Massenet, 49, is the epitome of taste and class. The former fashion writer, and her luxury fashion company, were honored this month by the World Retail Congress with an award for outstanding leadership.

Named one of the world's most glamorous women by Vogue, Massenet recently admitted to The Telegraph that she originally wanted to call her company What's New, Pussycat?

Looking good and feeling good is Salgardo's business. The 40-year-old high-end cosmetics exec is an avid motorcyclist and oversees the company's LifeRide for amfAR, a charity ride that raises funds and awareness to end the AIDS epidemic.

He served as Grand Marshall of the NYC Pride Parade in 2012 and is a self-described "power bear," as evidenced by his "furry face."

Real estate mogul Xin, 49, is not only one of the richest self-made women in China, but in the world. With a net worth of $3.8 billion, according to Forbes, she's got more dough than Bill Koch, Oprah, and Bill Gross.

Her rags-to-riches story is a source of inspiration throughout her home country. She pays it forward through a colossal college scholarship program that helps Chinese students from low income families go to Harvard.

Growing up in Denmark, Mantoni and his family couldn't afford most products by the iconic corporation he now runs. Over the years he developed a high respect for the brand, which was founded in 1925, and found its products to be constant sources of inspiration.

Since stepping into the CEO role, Mantoni, 39, has announced that the company returned to profitability after the recession.

The networking guru joined LinkedIn in 2008 and has since grown its membership base from 33 million to more than 225 million members and increased its revenue more than tenfold. He's also dipped into the non-profit sector as a board member of Malaria No More and DonorsChoose.org.

Weiner, 44, makes it a point to schedule 30- to 90-minute windows of "doing nothing" every day, giving him time to think and strategize ways to be a better leader.

Shih, 32, is much more than your typical Valley girl (Silicon Valley, that is). She graduated top of her class in computer science at Stanford, serves as a board member of Starbucks, and wrote a New York Times bestseller, "The Facebook Era."

Her company Hearsay Social builds software to help business managers attract, retain, and grow customer relationships using social networks.

The cheeky-grinned new CEO of Wal-Mart started with the company as a teenager, unloading trucks at one of the retail company's distribution centers.

Now thirty years and many, many promotions later, the 48-year-old Arkansas native, who is reportedly close with the Walton family, has climbed as far as he can go. He stepped into his new role at the beginning of this year, overseeing the launch of the company's new website, which could make it a viable threat against Amazon.

Hsieh, 40, is credited with turning Las Vegas into a "startup fantasyland." In 2011, he announced plans to blow much of his personal fortune on transforming a blighted area north of the Strip into an oasis of startups.

He also happens to own a party house, party bus, and Burning Man art installation there.

Smolyansky's kefir yogurt company made a killing in the first half of this year, with a net sales increase of 28% which Smolyansky, 39, attributes to a "growing trend of consumers looking for healthy food alternatives."

As a kid, Smolyansky served as her parents' "guinea pig," tasting new kefir flavors, and at 27 became the youngest female CEO at a publicly held firm. Today the certified dairy queen runs marathons and a non-profit, Test400k, which aims to resolve the backlog of 400,000 untested rape kits in the U.S. and end violence against women.

John, 45, started out working as a roadie for Run DMC and LL Cool J. He said he "couldn't rap or sing," but he's always loved fashion, which is why he started the urban streetwear label FUBU.

Known as the "Godfather of Urban Fashion," he now serves as a judge and investor on the ABC show "Shark Tank."

The 51-year-old CEO of French bank Société Générale came from a well-to-do Parisian family and elite French schools. But after enduring a personal tragedy when he was just 13 years old, he quickly learned to step up and manage crises — a skill which has served him well today in his role as CEO.

Oudéa has a healthy ability to hobnob with the French elite and a cool, calculated self-confidence necessary to guide a 150,000-employee bank through an era of punishing cutbacks.

Our 2012 Sexiest CEO Alive, 34-year-old Rattray founded Change.org in 2007, which the Washington Post called "one of the most influential channels for activism in the country."

Since then, Change.org has expanded into other countries, made its website available in different languages, and is working on finding solutions for people without internet access.

Former chairman and CEO of ad agency Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners, Senecal climbed the corporate ladder earlier this year and nabbed the president and CEO position at MDC.

The Montreal native speaks fluent French and "wears all black, all the time," according to Forbes, which included her on its 2012 list of the The Real-Life Mad Men (And Women).

Dunn, 35, is all for women wearing the pants. In a recent appearance at Southland, he expressed that the world is "going to change, dramatically and for the better, as more women are empowered."

Incidentally, Bonobos is named after a matriarchal chimpanzee, the only great ape that puts its women in charge. "And incidentally they have a lot of sex," Dunn says.

When you Google search 33-year-old Brian Chesky, auto-fill suggests you add "bodybuilding" to your search terms. The former hockey player, designer, and competitive bodybuilder continues to sport 16-inch biceps. (And for $35, you can buy a DVD of Chesky in the 2001 NPC Teen & Collegiate Nationals.)

Last year, more than 100 million people tried out Airbnb and the rental service made more than $250 million in revenue.

Hyman, 33, calls her closet her sanctuary and swears by "mini skirts, hot pink, and sparkle." Appropriately, she founded a fashion rental company with her Harvard Business School classmates.

Joyful news to any Rent the Runway customer or teenage girl going to prom, the brand opened its first storefront in New York City this fall and has plans to open a Georgetown location soon.

Only his official title, Chief Shoe Giver, gives Mycoskie the credit he deserves. Since he founded the company, and its One for One business model, in 2006, TOMS Shoes has provided more than 100 million pairs of shoes to children around the world.

Before this venture, the 38-year-old Texan and his sister competed in the CBS reality show "The Amazing Race" and came within minutes of winning.

When Oringer, 40, first launched Shutterstock more than 10 years ago, he filled it with 30,000 images from his personal portfolio. He went on to become New York's first tech billionaire, thanks to a monstrous IPO in 2012.

He says his proudest accomplishment is inspiring people to make art.

Barra, 52, is a true trailblazer, becoming the first woman to lead one of the nation's top three automobile companies.

But don't let her beauty fool you; she's tough. In an interview with Matt Lauer, she said the rumors that she was hired to soften the company's image, being a woman and all, were "absolutely not true" and that she was "selected for this job based on [her] qualifications."

Sención, 45, grew up selling newspapers in his father's Washington Heights candy store. In 2002 he channeled that experience into launching the largest Spanish-language sports magazine in the country. The Mundial Sports Network delivers an audience larger than ESPN and Fox Deportes combined.

Green is bumping heads with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick as his laidback ride-sharing startup's drivers are bumping fists. The company launched in San Francisco in 2012 and as of this summer is live in more than 60 cities around the country. Green better watch his back though; Kalanick confirmed that reports of Uber brand ambassadors trying to "recruit" Lyft drivers away are, in fact, true.

Plank, 42, got the idea to create a better sweat-wicking synthetic shirt while playing University of Maryland football. Under Armour was born in 1996 in the basement of his grandmother's house, Forbes reports, and today the former student-athlete has a net worth of $3 billion.

In September, Under Armour surpassed Adidas to become the second largest sportswear brand in the U.S. by sales.

[Victoria's] Secret's out: Journelle will be the brand to disrupt the bra and lingerie business.

Chambers, a life-long lingerie connoisseur, founded Journelle after moving back to New York to work as a management consultant and finding an aesthetic void in the industry. The 34-year-old is bringing beauty and high-fashion back to delicates.

Buzzfeed is movin' on up from cat memes to other viral lifestyle features, and even hard news. Peretti's brand is hot right now; The New York Times reported that the company could be valued at $850 million.

Not far off from Peretti's own $1 billion valuation of his company, which is the amount he wanted when Disney was in talks to buy them earlier this year. Disney didn't want to cough up that kind of money, but it wasn't a problem for the curly-haired 40-year-old, who's still got $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz to play with.

Brewer knows a thing or two about chemistry. Before taking the helm of Walmart's daughter company, Sam's Club, the 52-year-old exec worked as a scientist for Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Sam's Club's first woman and first African American to serve as CEO is also a member of the Board of Directors for Lockheed Martin Corp.

Having been at the House of Mouse since 1996, Iger drives creative and financial success at the world’s preeminent entertainment company.

The 63-year-old Ithaca College grad's contract was recently extended to summer 2016, during which time he plans to focus on the integration of Lucasfilm, the development of Shanghai Disney Resort, and the Marvel brand, which has erupted with recent box office hits like "Guardians of the Galaxy," and the "Avengers" and "Captain America" sequels.

At Thrillist, a leading lifestyle website for young urban men, 32-year-old Lerer has worn all the hats: founder, editor, programmer, salesperson, and more. He's also a family man, launching a venture capital firm with his dad Ken Lerer, co-founder and chairman of Huffington Post.

Today Thrillist anticipates somewhere north of $100 million in revenue by the end of the year — not bad for a business that used to be an e-newsletter for men.

Rice worked as a Hollywood talent manager and Cutler sold real estate in Colorado before they relocated to New York City and created their boutique fitness company that has amassed a cult-like following. The spin studios' heart-pounding dance music playlists and lit candles are reflections of the founders' fun-loving but spiritual personalities.

Classes are attended by celebs and regulars alike, and now DC can get excited — Cutler and Rice just opened their first studio in the nation's capital.

This 41-year-old New Zealander is a major player in Richard Branson's Virgin empire. As CEO, he is responsible for the management of the Group's capital investments and controlling how the Virgin brand is "developed, applied, and seen."

According to his hometown newspaper, he got the job after Branson interviewed him in the back of a car stuck in a London traffic jam.

Karp created the short-form blogging platform in reaction to Facebook, which he regarded as “insanely restrictive.”

The Williamsburg resident, who sold his company to Yahoo for $1.1 billion last year, has been playing as hard as he's been working. Not only did he talk education with President Obama (who likened the 28-year-old to "LeBron or Durant"), but he's met celebrities, traveled the world, and even swapped his beloved moped for a grown-up motorcycle.

The CEO and creative director of one of New York's fastest-growing contemporary fashion houses describes herself on Twitter as a "mommy, wife, occasional haiku-ist, and lover of all things colorful."

The 36-year-old's personal style is reflective of her brand: bright, bold, and always surprising.

At just 24 years old, Spiegel has built a $2 billion company used by millions of smartphone owners around the globe.

Everyone wants a piece of what Spiegel's got, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who last fall offered the Stanford dropout $3 billion in cash for the now-you-see-it-now-you-don't photo messaging app. No big deal to Spiegel, who said thanks, but no thanks.

Amoruso had never worked in fashion before Nasty Gal — she was just a well-dressed young woman with an eye for fashion. But the 30-year-old took her eBay store and grew it, at an unbelievable rate, into a $100 million business.

The rebellious, tattooed CEO just came out with her first book, "#GIRLBOSS," this year — a less corporate, more punk rock version of Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In."

Though Amoruso was our No. 1 on last year's Sexiest CEOs list, recent bouts of layoffs and rumors about "favoritism, top-heavy management, and lack of direction" in the company put her at No. 12 this year.

Hirai, 53, grew up in Tokyo, and received an international education at the American School in Japan. Just two and a half years into his position as CEO, Hirai has powered Sony through steadily climbing revenues, positive reviews of smartphones and digital cameras, and sales of more than 10 million PlayStation 4 units to date.

Hirai has been with Sony since 1984, and is getting competitive with Apple with upcoming releases of a gorgeous new smartphone, the Xperia Z3, and its own SmartWatch 3, which is going to be compatible with Android.

Barna, 30, and Beauchamp, 31, have received a ton of buzz over the novelty and exponential growth of their curated beauty and personal care product delivery company, Birchbox. The two launched the company after meeting at Harvard Business School and turned an idea into a massive success.

They launched Birchbox's men's product line two years ago, and just rolled out their first brick and mortar retail location in New York City's SoHo neighborhood this summer.

The Harvard Business School dropout founded Yelp in 2004 with the help of Russell Simmons, a former colleague from his PayPal days. Stoppelman, 37, had always been interested in tech and business ever since he opened a Schwab account at age 14 and started using the money he earned doing chores to invest in stocks.

To compete with the likes of GrubHub Seamless, Yelp launched a new food delivery service last summer, added a video component to restaurant reviews, and now allows users to make restaurant reservations through the site.

Known for his extreme competitiveness, Kalanick, 38, has made cab-catching cool again. Streamlining the process of hailing a ride using a GPS-based app that also processes your payment (tips are included) revolutionized getting around in cities like San Francisco, which aren't known for their public transportation systems.

Kalanick is bold and big-visioned, and has been seen scribbling his ideas out, even on the walls. But in case you're not convinced totally convinced of his sexiness, he's also pro gay marriage.

As a young, bubbly woman in the tech industry, Mayer made a name for herself as one of Google's original hires, climbing the ranks and becoming the company's first female vice president. As Yahoo's CEO, she overhauled its photo-sharing site Flickr, redesigned the home page, and spent more than $1 billion dollars to acquire blogging platform Tumblr.

We don't quite know what's next for 39-year-old Mayer, but she was seen at a bar in Sun Valley, Idaho having a heart-to-heart with AOL's Tim Armstrong over the summer, so it could be big.

Classmates from UPenn's Wharton School of Business, Blumenthal, 34, and Gilboa, 33, founded the trendy eyewear brand that provides a pair to someone in need with every pair sold. The co-CEOs and their two additional co-founders named the brand after two characters, Warby pepper and Zagg Parker, who appear in works by Beat writer Jack Kerouac.

Blumenthal is a native of New York City, enjoys long walks in the park, and is a big Hall and Oates fan. The adventure-seeking Gilboa trekked across Antarctica, became the fastest person to run a marathon in a flamingo costume, and aspires to "one day summit Everest while wearing his trusty monocle."

Gilles, 44, has the mega-cool job of heading Chrysler's racing division. Not only does he spend a lot of time with cars, but he also spends a fair bit of time, as evidenced by his Twitter handle, with celebs like Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, whose movies feature muscle cars.

But he's also gotten into spats with celebrities too, like when he lashed out against Donald Trump (a man you do not want to get into a fight with) for hating on Chrysler. Still, it shows that the talented designer is loyal to his brand.

Von Tobel, a former Morgan Stanley trader and Harvard Business School drop-out, calls her company "Weight Watchers for money." She's built an easy-to-follow online guide and community that makes managing finances easier than ever — one that's valued at almost a quarter of a billion dollars.

The 29-year-old authored her first book, "Financially Fearless," at the end of last year, made the cover of Forbes last month, and will speak at this year's 30 Under 30 Summit.

The Square CEO may just be a big kid at heart; Dorsey, 37, joined Disney's board of directors at the end of last year, joining fellow tech giants Sheryl Sandberg and John S. Chen. But he's also a badass with a nine-inch tattoo on his forearm of an integral and the musical notation for F-sharp, shaped like an S, that represents his interests in math, anatomy, and music.

The St. Louis-born powerhouse is now using Square to not only make paper receipts obsolete, but to make them a new means for businesses to get feedback from customers via digital receipts through a just-launched service called Feedback.

Billionaire fashionista Burch celebrated her company's 10-year anniversary in February, already successful with her shoe, handbag, apparel, and other accessory lines. But the 48-year-old is now cozying up to activewear brand Lululemon by launching her own line of yoga, running, tennis, and golf apparel and accessories that will debut in spring 2015.

Also in the works: Tory Burch for men — including small leather goods, tech accessories, belts, and possibly footwear.

It's been a very good year for Musk, who's seen shares of Tesla Motors climb 90% in 2014, and $10 billion valuation rumors about SpaceX (which the private space transportation company denied, but still). Even SolarCity, of which Musk is chairman, purchased solar panel manufacturing company Silveo earlier this year, and plans to build one of the world's largest solar plans in New York State.

On a more personal note, the 42-year-old father of five was nominated by Bill Gates to complete the ALS ice bucket challenge. The tender-hearted CEO, in true Musk fashion, rigged a contraption manned by one of his sons that dumped freezing water on him in the name of ALS research.

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