Top 50 CEOs

The Best-Performing CEOs in the World

by Morten T. Hansen, Herminia Ibarra, and Urs Peyer

Harvard Business Review 

With the focus on short-term corporate performance under fire, it’s more important than ever to take a long view of business leadership. These CEOs may not all be household names, but here’s an objective look at who delivered the top results over the long term.

 

A lot of people have blamed short-term thinking for causing our current economic troubles, which has set off a debate about what time window we should use to assess a CEO’s performance. Today boards of directors, senior managers, and investors intensely want to know how CEOs handle the ups and downs of running businesses over an extended period. Many executive compensation plans define the “long term” as a three-year horizon, but the real test of a CEO’s leadership has to be how the company does over his or her full tenure.
This article contains the first ranking that shows which CEOs of large public companies performed best over their entire time in office—or, for those still in the job, up until September 30, 2009. To compile our results, we collected data on close to 2,000 CEOs worldwide.
It may come as no shock that Steve Jobs of Apple tops the list. However, our ranking does contain a few surprises. You’ll see some relatively unknown faces at the top. The inverse is also true: Some obvious candidates in terms of reputation don’t make the top 50, which we’re printing in this issue—or even the top 100 or top 200. (To view the top 100 and access a list of the top 200, go to hbr.org/top-ceos.) In fact, our list overlaps very little with lists of the most-admired or highest-paid CEOs.

The Top 50 CEOs

1. Steve Jobs

Apple

1997–Present

United States

Information Technology

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 3,226%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 3,188%

Market Cap Change $150B

2. Yun Jong-Yong

Samsung Electronics

1996–2008

South Korea

Information Technology

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 1,559%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 1,458%

Market Cap Change $127B

3. Alexey B. Miller

Gazprom

2001–Present

Russia

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 2,032%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 2,427%

Market Cap Change $101B

4. John T. Chambers

Cisco Systems

1995–Present

United States

Information Technology

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 922%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 1,054%

Market Cap Change $152B

5. Mukesh D. Ambani

Reliance Industries

2002–Present

India

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 1,001%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 1,430%

Market Cap Change $72B

6. John C. Martin

Gilead Sciences

1996–Present

United States

Health Care

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 2,089%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 2,054%

Market Cap Change $39B

7. Jeffrey P. Bezos

Amazon.com

1996–Present

United States

Retail

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 4,592%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 4,586%

Market Cap Change $37B

8. Margaret C. Whitman

eBay

1998–2008

United States

Information Technology

Outsider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 1,434%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 1,368%

Market Cap Change $37B

9. Eric E. Schmidt

Google

2001–Present

United States

Information Technology

Outsider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 387%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 344%

Market Cap Change $101B

10. Hugh Grant

Monsanto

2003–Present

United States

Materials

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 684%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 572%

Market Cap Change $35B

11. Robert L. Tillman

Lowe’s

1996–2005

United States

Retail

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 459%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 456%

Market Cap Change $40B

12. William E. Greehey

Valero Energy

1997–2005

United States

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 613%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 525%

Market Cap Change $33B

13. Gareth Davis

Imperial Tobacco Group

1996–Present

United Kingdom

Consumer Goods & Services

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 937%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 638%

Market Cap Change $25B

14. William J. Doyle

PotashCorp

1999–Present

Canada

Materials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 651%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 939%

Market Cap Change $24B

15. Benjamin Steinbruch

Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional

2002–Present

Brazil

Materials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 2,337%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 3,360%

Market Cap Change $18B

16. Bart Becht

Reckitt Benckiser Group

1999–Present

United Kingdom

Consumer Goods & Services

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 402%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 364%

Market Cap Change $38B

17. Masahiro Sakane

Komatsu

2003–2007

Japan

Industrials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 652%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 497%

Market Cap Change $28B

18. Terry Leahy

Tesco

1997–Present

United Kingdom

Retail

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 309%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 307%

Market Cap Change $47B

19. John W. Thompson

Symantec

1999–2009

United States

Information Technology

Outsider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 839%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 851%

Market Cap Change $19B

20. Graham Mackay

SABMiller

1997–Present

United Kingdom

Consumer Goods & Services

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 341%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 291%

Market Cap Change $38B

21. Mikael Lilius

Fortum

2000–2009

Finland

Utilities

Outsider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 768%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 964%

Market Cap Change $18B

22. Mikhail Prokhorov

Norilsk Nickel

2001–2007

Russia

Materials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 260%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 739%

Market Cap Change $30B

23. Mark G. Papa

EOG Resources

1998–Present

United States

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 1,128%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 908%

Market Cap Change $17B

24. C. John Wilder

TXU

2004–2007

United States

Utilities

Outsider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 396%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 313%

Market Cap Change $31B

25. Frank Chapman

BG Group

2000–Present

United Kingdom

Energy

Outsider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 333%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 242%

Market Cap Change $50B

26. Paul Chisholm

Colt Telecom Group

1996–2001

United Kingdom

Telecommunications

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 1,923%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 1,770%

Market Cap Change $16B

27. David B. Snow, Jr.

Medco Health Solutions

2003–Present

United States

Health Care

Outsider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 418%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 396%

Market Cap Change $25B

28. Tomeo Kanbayashi

NTT Data

1995–1999

Japan

Information Technology

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 658%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 436%

Market Cap Change $21B

29. Chung Mong-Koo

Hyundai Motor

1998–Present

South Korea

Automobiles & Components

Outsider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 357%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 822%

Market Cap Change $21B

30. John C.S. Lau

Husky Energy

2000–Present

Canada

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 504%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 576%

Market Cap Change $21B

31. Stanley Fink

Man Group

2000–2007

United Kingdom

Financial Services

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 637%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 738%

Market Cap Change $18B

32. Antoine Zacharias

Vinci

1997–2006

France

Industrials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 861%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 1,048%

Market Cap Change $16B

33. Juan Villalonga Navarro

Telefónica

1996–2000

Spain

Telecommunications

Outsider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 252%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 219%

Market Cap Change $127B

34. Harry Roels

RWE

2003–2007

Germany

Utilities

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 223%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 281%

Market Cap Change $52B

35. Charles Goodyear

BHP Billiton

2003–2007

United Kingdom

Materials

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 407%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 157%

Market Cap Change $103B

36. Matteo Arpe

Capitalia

2003–2007

Italy

Financial Services

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 322%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 392%

Market Cap Change $22B

37. Florentino Pérez Rodríguez

Grupo ACS

1997–Present

Spain

Industrials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 536%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 751%

Market Cap Change $16B

38. Fujio Mitarai

Canon

1995–Present

Japan

Information Technology

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 292%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 226%

Market Cap Change $39B

39. Roy Gardner

Centrica

1997–2006

United Kingdom

Utilities

Outsider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 342%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 482%

Market Cap Change $19B

40. Thierry Desmarest

Total

1995–2007

France

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 261%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 169%

Market Cap Change $209B

41. Wang Jianzhou

China Mobile

2004–Present

China (Hong Kong)

Telecommunications

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 186%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 244%

Market Cap Change $138B

42. Fu Chengyu

CNOOC Ltd.

2003–Present

China (Hong Kong)

Energy

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 239%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 226%

Market Cap Change $46B

43. Mark C. Pigott

Paccar

1997–Present

United States

Industrials

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 696%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 705%

Market Cap Change $15B

44. William A. Osborn

Northern Trust

1995–2008

United States

Financial Services

Insider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 552%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 604%

Market Cap Change $15B

45. Craig S. Donohue

CME Group

2004–Present

United States

Financial Services

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 350%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 379%

Market Cap Change $19B

46. David Simon

Simon Property Group

1995–Present

United States

Financial Services

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 325%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 497%

Market Cap Change $18B

47. Larry C. Glasscock

WellPoint

1999–2007

United States

Health Care

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 240%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 203%

Market Cap Change $53B

48. A.J. Scheepbouwer

Royal KPN

2001–Present

Netherlands

Telecommunications

Insider CEO

MBA No

Country-Adjusted TSR 253%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 356%

Market Cap Change $23B

49. Fred Kindle

ABB

2005–2008

Switzerland

Industrials

Outsider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 262%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 205%

Market Cap Change $38B

50. David E.I. Pyott

Allergan

1998–Present

United States

Health Care

Outsider CEO

MBA Yes

Country-Adjusted TSR 609%

Industry-Adjusted TSR 610%

Market Cap Change $15B