Upwards Forward

Each year the Harvard Business Review ranks the top 100 best -performing CEO’s in the world (Article). The rankings are calculated by combining a financial ranking of companies in the S&P 1200 (weighted at 80%) and two ESG (environmental, social and governance) rankings (weighted at 10% each).

20 of the CEOs lead companies based outside their countries of birth. 32 have an MBA, up from 29 last year. 34 have an engineering degree, up from 32 last year. On average, they became CEO at age 44 and have been in office 16 years.3 are women, up from 2 last year. 87 are insiders, up from 81 last year.

CEO’s of companies that you may recognize are:

• Shantanu Narayen, Adobe Systems
• Mark Parker, Nike
• Fabrizio Freda, Estée Lauder
• Robert Iger, Disney
• Reed Hastings, Netflix

Here are some takeaways we can learn from these global leaders:

• Longevity works: CEOs on the list have been in the position for an average of 16 years, versus an average in 2017 of 7.2 years for S&P 500 CEOs.
• Don’t be narrow-minded: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who is #22 this year said, “If you want the right public policy, you have to be an advocate,” Dimon told Ignatius in a 2018 interview. “And you can’t be parochial. You can’t talk only about that one little regulation that’s going to help your company. You need to talk about tax policy, trade, immigration, technology.”
• Stay flexible: “One of the tests of any leader is how he or she adapts to a shifting environment,” Harvard Business Review Staff.
• More than money matters: Environmental, social, and governance issues matter to people and the best leaders.
• The world is big: Seeing past our own context is important.