MICHELLE MONE

But for her, Glasgow is still home and always will be.

Now in her mid-thirties, Michelle, who runs MJM International with her husband, Michael, recently moved her firm into stunning new £5million premises just outside East Kilbride, and the couple are building a new luxury home at Thorntonhall.

Michelle refuses to stand still. She is opening 10 new Ultimo shops in Debenhams across the UK. There are plans for 100 more next year.

She has also launched a new brand, Ultimo D-G - "We got about 50,000 letters from larger women saying what about us?'" she says.

And this year, she launched, herbal slimming pill Trim Secrets, in conjunction with herbalist Jan de Vries.

The glamorous mother-of-three credits the pill with helping her shed five-and-a-half stones.

Five years ago though, her business was in trouble, her marriage was in tatters and she was overweight. Even her home was at risk. After her sudden and dramatic success, she admits that she took her eye off the ball.

She says: "It's nice for other women to know it's not all plain sailing when you get to the top. You have to go through a few storms."

Over the years, Michelle has won many international awards for her business acumen.

She travels the world and probably knows the world's airports better than her own sitting-room, but also believes in giving something back, donating regularly to charities and working with them where possible.

She is on the Prince's Trust board of directors and gives her time to encourage potential young entrepreneurs to succeed in business.

This year, she has spoken to 200,000 women around the world, encouraging them to start up businesses. Michelle, who has just finished filming for TV's The Apprentice, said: "Ultimo is the biggest designer brand in the country and that's good for Glasgow and for Scotland."

LOUISE MARTIN

She will forever treasure the memory of that wonderful moment in Sri Lanka when Glasgow won the right to stage the biggest sporting event in its history.

It's thanks to the dedication and skill of this remarkable grandmother, who was made a CBE in 2003 for her services to Commonwealth Games, that a vast number of jobs will come to Glasgow's East End.

"It was an unbelievable result," she says. "I don't know how to describe how I felt. Excited. Utterly joyous. Ecstatic. And relieved that all the hard work had paid off."

Life has been a whirlwind since Sri Lanka. Recent highlights included a meeting with the First Minister to discuss the way forward, the UK Women of the Year lunch and a trip to Kampala in Uganda for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, where she hosted the Commonwealth sports breakfast for heads of state.

Last week, Louise also stepped down as the first woman chairman of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, although she remains a member of the board.

Married with a grown-up son and daughter and three grandchildren, Louise, 61, was brought up in Dunfermline and now lives in Dunblane.

At 15, she competed in the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, where she made the swimming finals in 100m and 200m backstroke.

Her daughter, Kerry, a competitive gymnast who switched to swimming, swam in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and Manchester.

Louise was gymnastics team manager at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, and deputy general team manager in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia four years later.

A lecturer in sports nutrition, she gave up work to bring up her family and got involved in sports management when Kerry took up gymnastics.

Often, she works seven days on the trot - and all as a volunteer.

JULIE FLEETING

At 26, Julie Fleeting, the Arsenal Ladies' striker from Kilwinning, is regarded as Scotland's best woman footballer.

She chalked up her 100th cap in October, just days after her 100th goal for Scotland, against Slovakia.

"It was a lot better than I ever imagined it would be," she says.

It is a remarkable achievement for the Ayrshire PE teacher, but Julie says that winning the European Cup with Arsenal last year was probably the highlight of her club career.

"I didn't score in the final, but to be playing in the European Cup was something quite special for all of us. I would love to play in a major championship in the Scotland team."

Julie works at St Matthew's Academy in Kilwinning but heads south every Sunday morning to play for Arsenal Ladies in the Women's English Premier League.

She is passionate about football and works continuously at keeping fit. She is at the gym every morning before work and trains most evenings.

She played professionally in the US with San Diego Spirit in 2001 for two seasons and returned to Scotland when the league folded.

She says: "San Diego was fantastic. It was difficult being away from home, but getting to play football in scorching weather and getting paid for it was great."

There is no resentment at the huge salaries male footballers can command. "For us football has only ever been a hobby. I knew all along I was never going to make a living at it."

She won 2005 Player's Player of the Year after 21 goals with Arsenal and has been playing football as long as she can remember.

Her father, Jim, was a defender with Kilmarnock and is now the SFA's director of football development and she is married to Livingston goalkeeper Colin Stewart.

Does she see herself as a role model for young sportswomen?

"All the girls in the national team are looked on as role models."