The Chiefs of the Executive Class
Who are the world's best chief executive officers? Barron's magazine is taking a cut at the debate, identifying 30 top corporate leaders from around the world. The list includes 20 CEOs at U.S. companies, seven from European companies and three from Asian-Pacific firms.
Admission is admittedly subjective, reflecting the assessment of editors and reporters at Barron's, which is published by Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
The list, however, isn't arbitrary. Editors looked at profit growth during a CEO's tenure and stock-price gains. Editors also assessed less-tangible factors, like leadership strength and industry stature. They sought CEOs who have made a difference to their organizations and who would be missed by investors if they departed. To qualify, the CEOs needed to be on the job for at least three years.
There was considerable holdover from the first such list, which Barron's compiled last year, with 20 of the 30 CEOs returning. Some, like Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Lee Raymond and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Fujio Cho, departed because of retirement, while others like Lexmark International Inc.'s Paul Curlander and Yahoo Inc.'s Terry Semel were dropped because of business setbacks or growth slowdowns that affected their stocks.
The new blood on the list is notable. Additions from the U.S. include Richard M. Kovacevich of Wells Fargo & Co., Raymond A. Mason of Legg Mason Inc., A.G. Lafley of Procter & Gamble Co., John Mackey of Whole Foods Market Inc. and Arthur D. Levinson of Genentech Inc. New to the list from outside the U.S. are Lakshmi Mittal of Mittal Steel Co., Allan Moss of Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd., Shigenobu Nagamori of Japan's Nidec Corp., Terry Leahy of British retailer Tesco PLC and Henning Kagermann of Germany's SAP AG.
20 top CEOs at U.S. companies, in alphabetical order
CEO Company
Warren E. Buffett Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Kenneth I. Chenault American Express Co.
George David United Technologies Corp.
Lew Frankfort Coach Inc.
Richard S. Fuld Jr. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Jeffrey R. Immelt General Electric Co.
Steven P. Jobs Apple Computer Inc.
Richard M. Kovacevich Wells Fargo & Co.
A.G. Lafley Procter & Gamble Co.
Arthur D. Levinson Genentech Inc.
John P. Mackey Whole Foods Market Inc.
Raymond A. Mason Legg Mason Inc.
Angelo R. Mozilo Countrywide Financial Corp.
Anne M. Mulcahy Xerox Corp.
Steven S. Reinemund PepsiCo Inc.
Glenn M. Renwick Progressive Corp.
Steven Roth Vornado Realty Trust
Bob R. Simpson XTO Energy Inc.
James D. Sinegal Costco Wholesale Corp.
Robert I. Toll Toll Brothers Inc.
Read profiles of these CEOs at
http://online.barrons.com/public/article/SB114324409971207983.htmlSource: Barron'sP&G long has been the largest household-products company in the world, and under Mr. Lafley's six-year tenure, it may have become the best operator in its group. It got even stronger last year with its purchase of Gillette. At Wells Fargo, Mr. Kovacevich is a maverick focused on internal growth rather than acquisitions. His strong record at Wells Fargo earned praise recently from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. CEO Warren Buffett, himself a repeater on the list.
Legg Mason has quietly become a colossus in the asset-management industry and its stock price is up almost 50-fold since its 1983 IPO. Mr. Mason has led it every step of the way. Mr. Mackey, the longtime CEO of Whole Foods, has disproved the idea that natural foods wouldn't travel beyond the Birkenstock crowd in places like California. Genentech has become the world's top biotech company under Mr. Levinson's leadership of the past 11 years. Powered by profits from promising cancer drugs, Genentech has seen its market value approach $100 billion, topping Merck & Co., Eli Lilly & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Amgen Inc.
Mr. Mittal has built the world's largest steel company and amassed a $24 billion fortune, ranking him fifth in the world, right up there with Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates and Mr. Buffett.
Under Mr. Kagermann, SAP has solidified its position as one of the world's top software companies and demonstrated that Europeans can play in a largely American game. Tesco has become Britain's dominant supermarket chain by pursuing a Wal-Mart-style strategy of high volume and low prices. CEO Mr. Leahy has been drubbing the actual Wal-Mart, which competes in the British grocery market. Mr. Moss, the head of Australia's Macquarie Bank, is little-known outside that country, but his innovative company is having global impact by purchasing toll roads and other infrastructure around the world.
Another businessman who is little-known globally, Mr. Nagamori, is one of Japan's most shareholder-oriented CEOs, heading Nidec, a firm that makes brushless motors that power hard drives in iPods and other products.
Some of the returning CEOs are familiar, including General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey Immelt, Apple Computer Inc.'s Steve Jobs and American Express Co.'s Kenneth Chenault. There also are some lesser-known stars, including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s Richard S. Fuld Jr., arguably Wall Street's best CEO.
Readers may quibble with some of these selections. Feedback is welcome. Which CEOs should stay on the list? Which should be dropped? Which should be added? Please email your ideas to
editors@barrons.com 《巴伦周刊》评出全球企业领袖30强
谁是全球最佳首席执行长？
根据本刊编辑和记者的评选，《巴伦周刊》公布了全球企业领袖30强的最新榜单。其中20名执掌美国公司，7人领导欧洲企业，还有3人在亚太运筹帷幄。
最新榜单
• 美国企业领袖20强这份榜单难免主观，但绝不武断。本刊编辑们考察了首席执行长任内公司利润和股价的增长，还有一些不那么清晰可见的因素，例如领导力和行业地位等。上榜的企业领导人都让他们的公司面貌焕然一新，如果他们离职，会令投资者念念不忘。每位入选者都需要在当前职位工作至少3年。
本刊从去年开始评选全球企业领袖30强，去年的大部分上榜者今年继续赫然在列。但有些人因为退休离任而未能入选，例如埃克森美孚(Exxon Mobil Corp.)的李•雷蒙德(Lee Raymond)和丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corp.)的张富士夫(Fujio Cho)；还有些人因为公司业务发展受挫或增长放缓影响了股价表现而落选，包括利盟国际(Lexmark International Inc.)的保罗•柯蓝德(Paul Curlander)和雅虎(Yahoo Inc.)的特里•塞梅尔(Terry Semel)。
新上榜的企业领袖们个个引人注目。来自美国公司的有富国银行(Wells Fargo & Co.)的理查德•科瓦切维奇(Richard M. Kovacevich)、Legg Mason Inc.的雷蒙德•梅森(Raymond A. Mason)、宝洁(Procter & Gamble Co.)的雷富礼(A.G. Lafley)、Whole Foods Market Inc.的约翰•麦基(John Mackey)，以及Genentech Inc.的阿瑟•利文森(Arthur D. Levinson)。非美国公司的领袖包括米塔尔公司(Mittal Steel Co.)的拉什米•米塔尔(Lakshmi Mittal)、澳大利亚麦格理银行(Macquarie Bank Ltd.)的艾伦•摩斯(Allan Moss)、日本电产株式会社(Nidec Corp.)的永守重信(Shigenobu Nagamori)、英国零售企业Tesco PLC的特里•莱希(Terry Leahy)，以及德国SAP AG的孔翰宁(Henning Kagermann)。
宝洁一直是全球最大的家用产品公司，而在雷富礼掌舵的六年里，它也许已经成长为业内经营最有方略的公司了。去年收购吉列(Gillette)之后，宝洁更是如虎添翼。
作为富国银行的领导人，科瓦切维奇独树一帜，重视内部增长，而不是外部收购。他的出色表现甚至赢得了Berkshire Hathaway Inc.首席执行长沃伦•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)的赞誉。巴菲特今年第二次上榜。
Legg Mason悄然成长为理财行业的巨人，1983年首次公开上市以来，股价已经飞涨近50倍。在它前进道路上的每一步都洒下了梅森的汗水。
麦基长期执掌Whole Foods，他力排众议，坚持认为天然食品会受到各地消费者的欢迎。十一年来，Genentech在利文森的带领下发展成为全球顶级生物科技公司之一。该公司研制的几种抗癌药物都很畅销，在这些产品的利润推动下，Genentech的市值已经接近1,000亿美元，超过了默克(Merck & Co.)、礼来(Eli Lilly & Co.)、百时美施贵宝(Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.)和Amgen Inc.。
米尔塔一手创建了全球最大的钢铁企业，个人财富增至240亿美元，成为全球第五大富豪，与微软(Microsoft Corp.)的比尔•盖茨(Bill Gates)和巴菲特比肩。
在孔翰宁的带领下，德国的SAP奠定了自己全球领先软件公司的地位，向世人展示了欧洲企业也能在以美国企业为主的行业里大显身手。Tesco效仿沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)的薄利多销战略，发展成为英国首屈一指的连锁超市，给想要拓展英国零售市场的沃尔玛带来了沉重打击。澳大利亚麦格理银行的莫斯在国外鲜为人知，但他领导下的麦格理银行创意为先，在世界各地频频出手收购收费公路等基础设施，影响力不容小觑。
永守重信执掌的日本电产株式会社也是全球市场上名不见经传的企业，该公司生产无刷电机，可用来驱动iPod等电子产品的硬盘驱动器。他本人则是日本最注重股东利益的企业领袖之一。
第二次上榜的企业领袖们有些非常著名，例如通用电器(General Electric Co.)的杰弗里•伊梅尔特(Jeffrey Immelt)、苹果电脑(Apple Computer Inc.)的史蒂夫•乔布斯(Steve Jobs)，还有美国运通(American Express Co.)的肯尼斯•谢诺(Kenneth Chenault)。也有些人名气稍逊，比如雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.)的理查德•富尔德(Richard S. Fuld Jr.)
