As the economic recovery seems faltering one day and back on the track the next, companies need all the new ideas and hard work they can get to keep the wheels of finance humming, and this latest group of up-and-coming executives seem ready to roll. Many on this year's 40 Under 40 list started their careers with Big Four accounting firms, while others have backgrounds as investment bankers, Wall Street analysts and management consultants. The list includes plenty of executives with M.B.A.s, but also a few with degrees in law and engineering. Most impressive, though, are the projects the executives have undertaken on behalf of their companies, ranging from efforts to restructure finance departments and repatriate overseas funds to participation in mergers, acquisitions and financings galore. The executives on the next five pages are positioning their companies for growth once the economy improves. Hopefully, these under-40s won't be too much older when that happens.

To see the complete list, including photos, click here.

38
Jason Aiken
Controller & VP
General Dynamics
Aiken is responsible for accounting, financial reporting, government finance and corporate financial systems at the $39 billion military contractor. Before being named controller in March, he was staff vice president of accounting. Aiken has a B.S. in business administration and accounting from Washington and Lee and an M.B.A. from Northwestern's Kellogg School.