Chief Executive (U.S.) articles from January 2004

Chief Executive (U.S.) archives from January 2004

Asian competition rising.(Editor's Note)(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... It was 25 years ago that I shipped off to Hong Kong as a young, impressionable correspondent for United Press International. That allowed me to be on the ground in southern China to witness the first strirrings of China's transition from...

The silent CEO.(Feedback)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... I wonder how many of your readers will grasp the significance of your practical and strategic advice urging chief executives to speak out in their own interests and not allow critics unchallenged license to define their roles (Editorial,...

In defense of ratings.(Feedback)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld's recent column, "The 'Compliance Industry' is Going Too Far" (Thought Leader, November 2003), suffers from several inaccuracies and misplaced conclusions. Sonnenfeld claims that our governance ratings firm,...

Darts & roses.(CEO Watch)
January 1, 2004... DART... * PARMALAT'S CALISTO TANZI. The global dairy empire you created--not to mention the billions in false assets--grew too big for you and your cronies to manage. Got bail? ROSE... * THE OSTRICH. After the Mad Cow outbreak,...

Management: chairman-CEO splits? Not likely.(CEO Watch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... THE AVERAGE HEADLINE reader might conclude that the idea of separating the chairman and CEO roles is gaining momentum. In December, both the New York Stock Exchange and The Clorox Co. announced they were going with the new governance flow. The...

Succession: revolving door.(CEO Watch)
January 1, 2004... YOU MIGHT THINK that with a diminishing number of Enron-like scandals, the turnover in the corner office would be easing, or at least becoming more predictable. But late in 2003, there were a surprising string of comings and goings, including...

In Wal-Mart's wake.(By the Numbers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... WAL-MART a boon for local economies? Not a chance, say critics like Al Norman, anti-sprawl activist and author of Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart. "Bringing a Wal-Mart to your town is supposed to be a shot in the arm," he says. "Instead it's a shot in...

CEO Confidence Index: corner office mood is soaring.(CEO Watch)
January 1, 2004... THE OVERALL CONFIDENCE of American CEOs is soaring. They are optimistic about hiring in 2004, within limits. And a surprising number say they are going to resort to mergers and acquisitions. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] The broadest indicator,...

How to subvert hierarchy: CEOs must 'skip levels' to manage more effectively.(Chief Concern)
January 1, 2004... I am often asked, "How do you, as a CEO, avoid getting isolated from what's going on inside your company?" In other words, how do I avoid what this magazine has termed the "CEO Trap"? The answer is that every successful leader has to have...

Succession planning: still broken; Why many companies aren't getting it right.(Thought Leader)
January 1, 2004... Two recent cases speak volumes about the failures of CEO succession planning. When Boeing's Phil Condit was forced out, did the company go with a younger, well-groomed candidate to replace him? No, it chose an older board member. And in the...

The next bubble? The inevitable shakeout in the outsourcing industry could leave your offshore operations stranded.(Management)
January 1, 2004... How do you know when another bubble is about to burst? The signs of an overinflated tech boom were evident back in the late 1990s but no one paid much attention until it was too late and millions of dollars were sunk in ill-fated ventures. ...

Clipped wings: CEOs may not be able to save the traditional major airlines as low-cost challengers win the battle of the skies.(Management)
January 1, 2004... Leo Mullin, CEO of Delta Air Lines, unexpectedly announced his retirement as of January after disclosures about executive pay packages at the struggling carrier. Don Carty, his counterpart at American Airlines, also was forced to step down in a...

The right stuff.(Management)(James F. Parket of Southwest Airlines)(Brief Article)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... WITH ITS LOW-COST structure, Southwest Airlines, started in 1971 as an intrastate airline in Texas, has become an industry powerhouse. James F. Parker, who succeeded legendary founder Herb Kelleher as CEO in June 2001, recently spoke with Chief...

The global CEO: overseas experience is becoming a must on top executives' resumes, according to this year's Route to the Top.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2004... When Henry McKinnell was 28 years old, Pfizer sent him to Iran to serve as a country manager. McKinnell arrived in 1973--wife and three small children in tow--for one of the company's grittier international gigs, one that promised culture shock...

Ode to wisdom: when trouble hits, we bring in the veterans to clean up the mess.(Opinion)
January 1, 2004... One of the findings for this year's Route to the Top took us by surprise. Among the top 100 companies, the percentage of CEOs aged 60 or older rose to 35 percent in 2003 from 28 percent in 2002--returning the number to 1998 levels (see chart)....

Analysis managing the derivatives risk: 'weapons of mass destruction'? In the wrong hands, sure. But also essential financial tools.(Finance)
January 1, 2004... There will be another derivatives disaster, and it could happen in 2004. With interest rates and inflation at historic lows, someone, somewhere is probably using swaps or options to make a dumb bet on what looks like a sure thing. And history...

The global growth imperative: Asian markets are major theme of CEO summit.(Conference Report)
January 1, 2004... It's a contradiction that more and more American CEOs face. On one hand, an opportunity for global expansion of breathtaking proportions glimmers on the horizon; burgeoning new markets in Asia, in particular, promise tremendous potential. On...

Going for growth: tech seems to be recovering. "Old economy" companies are poised for big gains, too.(Conference Report)
January 1, 2004... Having survived one of the worst shakeouts in memory, CEOs are relearning how to grow. Even hard-hit sectors such as telecoms are re-emerging. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As Corporate America emerges from a lengthy, batten-down-the-hatches...

Beyond good governance: how can CEOs win back the trust and loyalty of skittish stakeholders?(Conference Report)
January 1, 2004... It's been a tough time for any big business to shine in the court of public opinion. Even companies unblemished by charges of malfeasance or morale-shattering cutbacks are suffering from the fallout as shareholders, employees and customers grow...

Weill on the world: the financial system is getting fixed.(Sandy Weill)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... Sandy Weill offered a sweeping view of change--and opportunity--in a conversation with Editor-in-Chief Bill Holstein. Excerpts: It's been a hell of a cycle--recession, stock market volatility, terrorism, the wave of headlines. Is the cycle...

Midwest revival.(Regional Report: Midwest)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The American Midwest has long suffered the loss of manufacturing jobs, but now the forces of globalization also are stripping out service sector jobs. It's clear the region needs a strategy to compete. In this two-part report, we examine how...

Betting on technology: with manufacturing dwindling, the heartland states are turning to high tech to draw new blood.(Regional Report: Midwest)
January 1, 2004... In a dingy, defunct, red-brick manufacturing complex in a nondescript quarter of Akron, Ohio, the old order of Midwestern manufacturing is literally giving birth to a new, lighter-weight generation. The 146,000-square-foot complex, once a B.F....

Back on track: how an old-fashioned Kansan with railroading in his blood breathed new life into the UP.(Regional Report: Midwest)(Union Pacific)
January 1, 2004... By any account, Union Pacific's takeover of Southern Pacific in 1996 and 1997 was a train wreck. Rail cars bound for Houston from Chicago ended up in Los Angeles, thanks to incompatible software and a shortage of locomotives. Coal didn't reach...

Grand slammin' in the flats of Belize: need a respite? Try casting flies at this idyllic Caribbean fishing hub. But don't expect the tarpon to be easy. Just ask Intel's Craig Barrett.(Travel)
January 1, 2004... There's a fish at 11 o'clock. About 40 feet. Moving left. Hurry." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From the casting platform of our narrow skiff, I whipped the rod back and forth to work out enough line to make the cast into the shallow,...

Lord's A-leapin': for the sporty and debonair, Jaguar unveils its new XJR.(Wheels)
January 1, 2004... The season was changing and temperatures were dipping, so I decided to light a fire: I ignited the engine in the Jaguar XJR in my driveway. Almost immediately there was a burst of rain. As I fumbled for the wipers, the moisture-sensing blades...

The feat of the master: it's time the job of director demanded a formal education.(Flip Side)
January 1, 2004... Several years ago, Alan Ehrenhalt wrote a fine book called The United States of Ambition. In it, he argued that congressmen, as opposed to senators, work extremely hard at their jobs, in part because the pay is so good. Most members of the...

CEOs must shape election year debate.(Editorial)(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... Most chief executives, traumatized by years of scandal, recession and stock market collapse, have chosen to scrupulously avoid the public limelight. But the bad guys are going to jail and the economic cycle is turning. With the American...