TOP CEOS - Shelter From the Storm: America’s Best CEOs

作为一家公共公司的首席执行官从未容易容易。最近，这一切都是不可能的。安然时代会计丑闻，所谓的选择 - 回溯不当行为和其他Tawdry碎片对严格的新法规，一波投资者激活主义浪潮，并由任何长期董事会增加了第二次猜测 - 所有这些已经提高了已经高的压力水平，并有助于记录首席执行官之间的营业额。首席执行官唯一可靠的积极新闻经济强劲。不再。现在，随着住房和信贷市场的危机威胁要引发经济衰退，企业酋长将不得不努力维持，更少的成长，收益。这将只会给予焦躁不安的股东和独立董事更多的理由与顶部的男人和女性发生冲突。

“CEOs are very much on guard right now,” says Keith Meyer, co-head of the North American CEO practice at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International. “Without the economic tailwinds behind them, it really is going to separate those leaders who are really good at creating shareholder value from those maybe riding the crest of an industry wave.”

Strong leadership is especially valuable during times like these. For a sixth consecutive year, Institutional Investor has surveyed the world’s biggest shareholders to find out which CEOs are the most outstanding in America. Many of the winning chief executives selected by our voters have proven their mettle in past crises by turning around companies that were hurting financially, suffering from scandals or otherwise confronted with serious obstacles.

James Skinner, for example, took over McDonald’s Corp. in the middle of a turnaround that had been stopped cold — first by former CEO James Cantalupo’s sudden death by heart attack in April 2004 and six months later when Cantalupo’s successor, Charles Bell, was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer and resigned. By the time Skinner assumed the job, the fast-food chain was under siege from critics assailing its role in the growth of obesity in the U.S. Skinner oversaw a menu change that stressed healthier options. The 37-year McDonald’s veteran also rallied stunned employees to follow through on the turnaround plan that Cantalupo and Bell had begun. Last year the company posted record earnings, with December marking its 55th consecutive month in the black. Its shares rose by approximately one third.

Skinner，被投资者判断为餐厅的顶级首席执行官，归功于他的成功迅速举行了一些简单的原则，包括专注于在内部发展未来领导者，更重要，建立可持续增长。“这是一个首席执行官的1号工作 - 如果你没有得到权利，你就不会有两三个，”他说。投资者同意，注意到虽然Skinner可能与他的前辈似乎没有视觉，“他坚持了一个很好的策略，”作为一个投资组合经理说。“他得到了坚持吧的积分。”

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Mark Hurd, the No. 1 CEO in the IT Hardware sector, has spent the past two years cleaning up a mess, following a revolt by old-line technologists against former CEO Carleton Fiorina’s 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. and Fiorina’s exit amid a well-publicized governance scandal that involved alleged spying on journalists. Hurd kept a low profile while revamping the company’s operations to make them more efficient and more profitable. He consolidated, for example, HP’s 85 data centers worldwide to just six, saving some $1 billion in technology spending. Late last year HP surpassed rival Dell to become the world’s No. 1 personal computer vendor; its fourth-quarter earnings of $2.6 billion rose 39 percent from the same period in 2006, beating Wall Street’s expectations. “It’s been a real challenge to get the organization behind him and moving in one direction, but he has largely done it,” says one investor.

联合健康集团的Stephen Hemsley假定CEO’s chair during the darkest chapter in the insurer’s history. His predecessor and former boss, William McGuire, stepped down in 2006 amid a probe into the alleged backdating of options grants. Hemsley, the top CEO in the Managed Care sector in this year’s survey, set to work curing the company’s ailments under the gaze of regulators investigating the company’s dealings. He also had to rehabilitate UnitedHealth’s reputation in the eyes of analysts, investors and employees, a task he tackled by voluntarily having all of his remaining options repriced. By doing so, he forfeited $240 million in stock, a move that boosted his credibility and distanced him from McGuire. Hemsley apologized to shareholders, who suffered a 28 percent decline in the value of their investment during the first half of 2006, and improved communication with the market by freeing his executive team to speak with investors and analysts.

“这真的很简单，”Hemsley说。“我们以同样的方式与他们谈论业务。”

对Hemsley的表现印象深刻的一位投资者说：“你已经看到他改变了公司的形象，以更为开放和更友善的经纪人和投资者社区。”

随着Sarbanes-oxley法案等邮政改革的出现，作为股东和董事在管理公共公司在管理公共公司方面发挥更积极的作用，首席执行官必须毫不介意他们的行动如何看待。在循环衰退期间，他们必须更加谨慎，因为利润增长和股价升值将更加难以实现。

“When you talk to board members today, the biggest issue or regret they have is not firing a CEO soon enough,” says Steven Wheeler, head of the global strategic leadership practice at management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Boards today take a more active role in challenging managements than they used to, which puts even more pressure on CEOs to explain their actions. “That’s a substantial change over the past few years.”

越来越多的导演是确保他们不t have regrets. In November, 132 public-company CEOs left their jobs, a 38 percent increase from the 96 who departed in October and 17 percent higher than in November 2006, according to outplacement consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas. If economic conditions worsen in the coming year, those numbers may rise further as companies seek CEOs who can lead them through a crisis.

“In the last year we’ve been looking for individuals who can thrive with challenge,” says Clarke Murphy, head of the CEO and board services practice at New York executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. “And not a warm-and-fuzzy challenge, but an ‘Oh my gosh, this is a huge problem’ challenge.”

我们调查中的选民正在做同样的事情。我们的几位顶级CEO首席执行官赢得了投资者的奖金，以便通过牛市进行牛市，记住下来。

Exelon Corp.首席执行官John Rowe在电力公用事业部门获得最高荣誉，他常常听说批评，因为在过去几年的能源价格上涨和债务资本在过去几年中，他的公司未能充分攻击。即使竞争对手借用批量借入促进财务表现或建造大规模新设施，Rowe抵制拨打电话也是如此。现在增长正在放缓，他很高兴他没有过度扩张公司 - 也是股东也是如此。

“当一切都蓬勃发展时，很容易看起来很聪明，”Rowe告诉II。“在经济衰退或价格崩溃时，很难看起来很聪明。我们试图制定非常艰难的决定，可以在整个商业周期中存活。如果你的所有东西都是好的，那么当他们不好时，你就不会拥有你需要的财务状况。这是一个很难努力符合价值的长期驱动因素的问题。“

The top CEO in the Electrical Equipment & Multi-Industry sector, Emerson Electric Co.’s David Farr, also has been positioning his company to withstand more difficult times ahead. Farr has focused on boosting non-U.S. sales, particularly in China, where the company has been making substantial investments and now does more than $1 billion in annual sales. Today, 52 percent of Emerson’s revenues come from outside the U.S., compared with 40 percent when Farr took over in 2000. That geographic diversity “will allow us to do reasonably well even though the U.S. economy will slow down,” says Farr, adding that the push into China is also a preemptive strike against rivals there that may want to invade Emerson’s existing turf. “My biggest concern is that I allow a Chinese Emerson to emerge, and when I pass this on to the next generation, they have a new Emerson out of China to deal with.”

这种清晰的领导，即将到来的几个月的需求将升级，迫使在牛市中茁壮成长的魅力愿景，以适应或让位于地球成本刀具和精明的实用主义者，他们可以通过经济衰退。利用蓬勃发展的资本市场通过大收购增长的首席执行官可能会发现难以转型。“展望未来，这对这些游戏的CEO来说将是一个很大的挑战，”Heidrick的迈耶斯说。“你需要一个操作焦点，它可能会回到老式的方式来领先，这是：你如何从你拥有的操作中获得更多？”

谁曾经想过与萨班斯 - 奥克斯利似乎就像在公园散步？

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The Best CEOs

由部门和行业列出的是59名首席执行官，当机构投资者要求投资组合管理人员在域名中选择最重要的首席执行官时，他们得分最高。亚博赞助欧冠

基础材料

• Chemicals

休格兰特蒙森公司

•金属和采矿

Richard Adkerson FreePort-McMoran铜＆金

• Paper & Forest Products

约翰法利国际论文有限公司

资本商品/工业

•航空航天和国防电子

George David United Technologies Corp.

• Airfreight & Surface Transportation

Frederick Smith Fedex Corp.

• Business & Professional Services

Jeffrey Joerres Manpower.

• Electrical Equipment & Multi-Industry

David Farremerson Electric Co.

•环境服务

James O’Connor Republic Services

•机械

亚历山大（桑迪）Cutler Eaton Corp.

• Packaging

Albert Stroucken Owens-illinois

Consumer

•航空公司

加里凯利西南航空公司

•服装，鞋类和纺织品

刘易斯法兰克福教练

•Autos和Auto Parts

约翰贝斯¹Johnson Controls

•饮料

Indra Nooyi PepsiCo

•化妆品，家居和个人护理产品

Alan Lafley Procter＆Gamble Co.

• 食物

A.D. David Mackay Kellogg Co.

•游戏和住宿

Stephen Wynn Wynn Resorts

• Homebuilders & Building Products

罗伯特收费兄弟

• 闲暇

Micky Arison Carnival Corp.

•餐馆

詹姆斯Skinner McDonald's Corp.

• Retailing/Broadlines & Department Stores

罗伯特乌里希²目标公司

•零售/食品和药物链

Thomas Ryan CVS Caremark Corp.

• Retailing/Hardlines

罗纳德萨根斯台普斯

•零售/专业商店

Michael Jeffries Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

• Tobacco

Louis Camilleri亚特里亚集团

活力

• Electric Utilities

约翰·罗德Exelon公司

• Integrated Oil

Rex Tillerson Exxon Mobil Corp.

• 天然气

基思rattie Questar公司

• Oil & Gas Exploration & Production

Robert Simpson XTo Energy

• Oil Services & Equipment

Andrew Gould Schlumberger Financial Institutions

•银行/大帽子

John Stumpf Wells Fargo & Co.

• Banks/Midcap

Harris Simmons Zions Bancorp.

•经纪人和资产管理人员

Lloyd Blankfein Goldman Sachs Group

• Consumer Finance

Kenneth Chenault American Express Co.

• Insurance/Life

Arthur Ryan³谨慎的金融

• Insurance/Nonlife

Evan Greenberg Ace⁴

•重新获得

Christopher Nassetta⁵东道酒店及度假村

卫生保健

• Biotechnology

John Martin Gilead Sciences

• Health Care Facilities

韦恩史密斯社区卫生系统

•医疗保健技术和分销

David Snow Jr. Medco Health Solutions

• Managed Care

斯蒂芬Hemsley联合健康集团

• Medical Supplies & Devices

David Dvorak Zimmer Holdings

•药品/专业

Fred Hassan Schering-Plough Corp.

• Pharmaceuticals/Specialty

David Pyott Allergan

媒体

• Cable & Satellite

Brian Roberts Comcast Corp.

• 娱乐

罗伯特艾格沃尔特迪斯尼有限公司

•出版和广告代理商

John Wren Omnicom集团

•广播电视广播

David Field Entercom Communications Corp.

技术

• Computer Services & IT Consulting

威廉绿色埃森哲³

• Electronics Manufacturing Services

蒂莫西主乔比尔电路

• Imaging Technology

Bruce Chizen⁶Adobe Systems

• 互联网

Eric Sc​​hmidt Google.

•它的硬件

Mark Hurd Hewlett-Packard Co.

•半导体资本设备

Stephen Newberry Lam Research Corp.

•半导体

Richard Templeton Texas Instruments

• Software

劳伦斯埃里森甲骨文公司

Telecommunications

• Data Networking & Wireline Equipment

John Chambers Cisco Systems

• Telecom Equipment/Wireless

Paul Jacobs Qualcomm.

• Telecom Services

Ivan Seidenberg Verizon.

¹约翰贝斯stepped down as CEO of Johnson Controls in October 2007 and retired at year-end 2007.

²目标公司announced in January 2008 that Robert Ulrich will step down as CEO in May 2008.

³审慎财务2007年11月宣布，亚瑟瑞安将于2008年1月担任首席执行官，并于2008年5月担任主席。

⁴Based in Bermuda.

⁵Christopher Nassettastepped down as CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts in October 2007.

⁶Bruce Chizen stepped down as CEO of Adobe Systems in November 2007.

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斯蒂芬Hemsley联合健康集团

年龄：55年命名首席执行官：2006年

员工人数：58,000

2007年股票表现：+8.4％

Annual compensation: $4.3 million

Stock options: $3.1 million

When Stephen Hemsley took over as CEO of UnitedHealth Group in November 2006, he knew he was in for a rough year. His predecessor, William McGuire, had just resigned amid allegations of options backdating, and Hemsley, the company’s former president, who had been cleared of wrongdoing, was tasked with cleaning up the company’s image and putting UnitedHealth back on track.

尽管最近麦格尔和股东最近的股东和股东同意返回5.18亿美元的收益，但仍然正在进行一项司法部调查。此外，Hemsley还走了很长的路要走了恢复了Minnettled Minnetonka，基于明尼苏达州的健康保险公司的信誉，该国最大。经过向股东和员工道歉，他自愿提供价值1.9亿美元的选择（以来已被没收5000万美元的价值。然后，他改变了联合律的高级管理团队，改善了内部控制，并将12年减少了12年的盈利，以获得更多的选择费用。

最重要的是，Hemsley提供了强大的财务表现。第三季度的净收入增长了15％，与同期同期相比，达到3亿美元，即时击败分析师的估计。

“虽然2007年不是，通过任何措施，我们的表现最强，我认为我们做出了重要的变化，”Hemsley说，随着机会提出了一个机会，以寻找团队动态和组织结构，并带来新的领导力。“这一点可能是我将重新回顾的倡议是骄傲的。”

Bruce Chizen Adobe Systems

年龄：52年命名首席执行官：2000年

Number of employees: 6,794

2007年股票表现：+ 3.9％

Annual compensation: $4.9 million

Stock options: $77 million

作为首席执行官比以往任何时候都更强硬，Avers Bruce Chizen。今天的全球性质，繁重的企业治理需求和较短的股东保险丝使其成为一项耗费24-7个工作。这就是为什么，在成功的七年赛之后，十一月的Chizen宣布，他将作为软件制造商Adobe系统的首席执行官辞职，将缰绳交给总统和Coo Shantanu Narayen的生效12月1日。

“我想休息一下，”Chizen解释道。“在为时已晚之前，我希望能够退后一步，看看采取不同的挑战。”

Chizen的出发（他被列为我们排名中的胜利者，因为我们的投票截止为9月30日）是Adobe股东的悲伤新闻。在他的任期期间，加利福尼亚州圣何塞，公司的股价上涨约34％，而摩根士丹利首都国际美国软件指数的3％仅为3％，标准差距500指数的13％，销售额增加了一倍多。Adobe的软件包括流行的Acrobat Reader和Publishing和Photo Editing Software的套件，在世界各地的桌面上几乎普遍存在，包括这本杂志。Chizen成功的2005年收购了Macromedia及其Flash Web-Animation技术，使合并的实体定位在基于Web的应用程序业务中，竞争Microsoft Corp.等巨人。

2007年，Adobe完成了最大的软件发布;它的创意套件3被更热情地获得，而不是Chizen希望。这一成功有助于为截至11月30日止季的季度推动令人印象深刻的数字：2006年，利润上涨21％，销售额超过同一季度飙升34％。和奇恩认为土坯处于潜在的经济放缓。

“I don’t think any company is immune to a recession, but what protects Adobe is the fact that we’re so diversified,” he says, pointing to the number of markets and geographies in which Adobe competes and the variety of customers it serves. “Also, the cost of our products is relatively inexpensive. So unless the economy really goes south quickly, we should do okay.”

也许大多数人都，街上会想念Chizen的直接谈话，本土纽约人氛围。“我们履行我们的承诺，”他说。“当我们没有，我们面对了它。”

约翰·罗德Exelon公司

年龄：62年命名首席执行官：2002年

Number of employees: 17,200

2007 stock performance: +35.2 percent

Annual compensation: $15.1 million

股票期权：610万美元

约翰·罗伊随时将在野兔上挑选乌龟。During the long boom in capital markets activity that ended over the summer, the CEO of Chicago-based electric utility Exelon Corp. resisted calls from shareholders to juice the company’s performance by adding debt, mindful that too much leverage can be a big burden when times get tough. Now, as housing and credit market crises threaten to throw the economy into recession, Rowe is thankful he did not give in. “We spend a lot of time teaching our officers that the protection of value is as important as growth,” explains Rowe.

罗德患者和谨慎，Rowe正在考虑削减资本支出，并采取观察方法在德克萨斯州建设两座核电站。“我们的董事会已经非常明确地决定，它才签署了未来两年的1亿美元承诺，”罗德说。“我们将需要两年时间来确定我们更多地了解经济状况。”

首席执行官正在采取类似务实的立场，就公用事业和其他能源公司面临的最重要问题之一：减少无害环境损害碳排放的压力。Rowe CochaiS培养国家能源政策委员会，一组学术界和商业领导者，四月建议在其他机制中实施强制性概要和贸易体系，以限制温室气体排放。在此目的，委员会试图确保该行业会建议一个常识，以市场为基础的市场方法来发出联邦政府似乎注定要与立法和法规进行处理。但是煤炭和其他化石燃料燃烧的排放栏也将有助于提高Exelon核发电厂的价值。该公司是美国最大的美国原子发电机，占该国核电的五分之一。

“I got involved in the carbon issue originally because I thought it was a problem that had to be solved and I wanted to help develop reasonable proposals for doing it rather than unreasonable ones,” says Rowe. “It is now more and more clear that in our case, because of our large nuclear fleet, there is a potential economic benefit here as well.”

David Farr Emerson Electric Co.

年龄：52年命名首席执行官：2000年

Number of employees: 140,000

2007 stock performance: +31.4 percent

年度赔偿：2220万美元

股票期权：2100万美元

David Farr didn’t enjoy much of a honeymoon after becoming CEO of Emerson Electric Co. in October 2000. In the spring of 2001, the new chief realized he had to tell the board that the diversified conglomerate was about to break a 43-year streak of growing earnings every quarter.

“我没有睡五天，”福尔召回。

但由于循环衰退开始抓住电气设备行业，Farr意识到该公司必须通过大幅削减新技术的投资来突破条纹或牺牲其未来的盈利能力。“我们这样做的原因，”他告诉董事和股东，“我们不会降低这种经济衰退的技术或创新投资。结果，我们现在可能有一些下降的边缘，但我们将比竞争对手更强大。“

Farr是对的。他通过崎岖的重组领导了公司，包括植物关闭和裁员，同时保持研究和开发的支出，艾默生出现了更精简，并良好地利用更新的经济增长。艾默生财政第四季度收益于2007年9月30日止，比上年增长了20％。财政年度销售攀升12％，达到226亿美元。

由于整体经济减缓，福尔森预计2008年的收入增长率将跌至约5至7％。但本公司的多样性在业务线和地理方面，应该帮助它变得更加艰难。非美国。去年销售额占总收入的52％，从福尔接手时的40％。他旨在通过专注于东欧，中东和亚洲的快速增长市场来增加外国股份至60％。

Farr, who has spent more than 26 years at the St. Louis–based company, is proud of his efforts. Emerson went from being a “so-so Midwestern company,” he says, to becoming a global leader, with a market capitalization of $45 billion. “That’s not a small company,” he adds. “It’s not G.E. — but we do pretty well for ourselves.”

詹姆斯Skinner McDonald's Corp.

Age: 63 Year named CEO: 2004

Number of employees: 465,000

2007年股票表现：+ 36.4％

Annual compensation: $11.3 million

股票期权：600万美元

James Skinner displayed keen leadership skills at a company reeling from tragedy, when he took over at McDonald’s Corp. following the sudden loss of two chief executives — James Cantalupo, who died of a heart attack in April 2004, and Charles Bell, who was diagnosed with cancer and resigned just six months after succeeding Cantalupo. Skinner executed the turnaround plan of his predecessors, helping McDonald’s post strong earnings growth and stock-price appreciation by divesting sister chains Boston Market and Chipotle and improving the appearance and efficiency of existing McDonald’s stores. Now he is trying to position the iconic restaurant chain for harder times, as a housing downturn, high fuel prices and credit market woes dent consumer confidence.

“We need to provide everyday affordability and value,” says the 37-year McDonald’s veteran, who has increased prices by just 3 to 4 percent annually in recent years despite surging wage and commodities costs.

Skinner强调行业的增长前景仍然强劲，年销售额预计将从今天的8000亿美元增加到未来五年超过1万亿美元。“世界上没有人更准备利用那个机会而不是麦当劳，”他说。“我们需要定位自己，以便客户有一个选择。如果他们要去吃饭，麦当劳应该是他们的地方。“

这连锁因其对不断扩大的美国腰围的贡献而越来越大的批评，特别是儿童的贡献。这是Skinner面对正面的问题。首席执行官推出了MENU变化，该更改具有更健康的选择，如沙拉和水果，以及其主要大型MAC和四分之一磅队。

“What I tell people is, we are not responsible for obesity, nor will we be the people who solve the problem in America or any other country,” Skinner says. “But we have to be part of the solution to provide choices that make people feel good about the experience at McDonald’s and have choices that fit into their busy, active lifestyles.”