Theodore ("Ted") Kim, the 37-year-old head of financial strategy and capital markets at $34 billion healthcare giant Aetna, has been promoted four times in five years. With a background in accounting and management consulting, Kim started as a finance analyst at the company in 2006, became assistant treasurer in 2010 and took his current post earlier this year.

Working closely with CFO Joseph Zubretsky and investment bank Goldman Sachs, Kim led the team that developed the first-ever medical catastrophe securitization through vehicles named Vitality Re and Vitality Re II. Through these celebrated deals, the second of which was completed this past spring, Aetna reduced its capital requirements by $300 million by transferring the risk of costly pandemics to investors.

More money-saving innovations are undoubtedly in Kim's future. "I have a strong desire to deliver results, and hopefully that will serve me well throughout my career," he says.