Chief Executive (U.S.) articles from July 2003

Chief Executive (U.S.) archives from July 2003

Distinguished, not divine, CEOs.(chief executive officers must have vision and ability to persuade)(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... When Executive Editor C.J. Prince and I sat down with Hank Greenberg, we congratulated him for being named CEO of the Year. "But what does it mean?" he asked. Hank, as everybody knows, gets right to the point. So let me offer this...

What risk really means.(chief executive officers not big risk-takers)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... Much of your June editorial ("CEOs Should Be Well Paid. Fix the Abuses.") is quite appropriate. But I strongly take issue with two instances in which you infer big "risk-taking" by CEOs. First, you liken chief executives to entrepreneurs...

Player-coach indeed.(chief executive officers need to be team players)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... I enjoyed your Editor's Note ("The CEO as Player-Coach," June) and believe strongly in this athletic analogy and leadership philosophy. A leader, in my opinion, needs to be in constant contact with the chemistry of individual personalities...

What miracle?(Cypress Semiconductor issues options )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... T.J. Rodgers is one of the most vocal opponents of options expensing. He calls members of FASB "idiots" and Warren Buffett a "hypocrite" in your May cover story ("CEO vs. CEO"). Let the facts speak for themselves: Cypress Semiconductor, a firm...

Ed Brennan and Gerard Arpey.(new chairman and CEO does not want salary)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... AMR's new chairman and CEO did the right thing after Don Carty's infamous meltdown. Brennan won't take a salary or options; Arpey will keep his salary as COO. Those gestures might help American Airlines in the air.

Andrea Jung.(Avon Products increases sales despite slow economic times)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Avon Products' CEO is winning hosannas for revving up sales at home and particularly abroad during slow economic times. Job well-done. But they aren't "Avon ladies" any more. The folks going door to door are now "sales representatives."

Howell Raines.(Darts ...)
July 1, 2003... Ostensibly, The New York times' top editor fell on his sword because of an overly creative reporter. But there was more to it. His star system and cowboy style, in some ways effective, alienated his troops. Who's in charge? Certainly not...

John Trani.(retires)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The CEO who made Stanley Works the poster-child for how not to try moving a company's HQ to Bermuda. Trani is retiring because "now is an opportune time." At age 58? Yeah, right.

Expensing options gains steam.(Dell Computers will not offer stock options)
July 1, 2003... Michael Dell is slashing the number of options issued to his employees by half. The main reason Dell Computer has decided it will no longer be as generous with its stock is simple: It no longer has to be. Employees in the troubled computer...

The coming M&A boom?(Hewitt Associates predicts merger and acquisition activity rebound)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... After going into the deep freeze post-Bubble, merger and acquisition activity may be poised for a sharp rebound, says Hewitt Associates. The human resources consultancy, based in Lincolnshire, Ill., surveyed 70 CEOs, CFOs, board members and...

Turning an icon on its head.(ketchup bottle redesign)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A major earthquake is spreading throughout the world from an epicenter in Pittsburgh: The ketchup bottle has finally changed. It has been literally stood on its head. Anybody who has ever opened a full bottle of ketchup knows that you have...

Annika Sorenstam.(Roses ...)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Congrats for breaking into the men's game. What wonderful composure and grace you displayed under intense scrutiny. Sorry you didn't make the cut. Don't give up. You're good for the game.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer.(Roses ...)
July 1, 2003... In an email to employees, he said customers aren't so interested in technology for technology's sake but have "greater focus on doing more with less." Bingo, Mr. Ballmer.

Steve Case.(Darts ...)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... His admirers hint that he wants to spin off America Online from AOL Time Warner. Thanks, but no thanks, Steverino. You've wiped out enough shareholder wealth for one lifetime.

Edward Bronfman Jr.(Darts ...)
July 1, 2003... Ditto. Take up a nice Canadian sport, like curling.

Lord of the mice: five years ago, Guerrino DeLuca walked away from Apple Computer to sell mice. As his company hits the $1 billion mark, he has no regrets.(Technology)(Biography)
July 1, 2003... Guerrino DeLuca, the CEO of Logitech International, is up from his chair again, grabbing hold of a black steering heel, the kind that kids use when they play the blockbuster race car game Gran Turismo on their PlayStations. With all the...

Getting to YES: Leo Hindery Jr.'s pitched battle with Cablevision's Jimmy Dolan was only his latest fight. He thrives on deals, fear and speed.(Profile)(Biography)
July 1, 2003... Sure, he's scared when he settles his stocky frame into the straight and narrow sport seat of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. And, as he now recalls that precise moment at LeMans in June 2002, it is once again, in living color, Leo J. Hindery Jr....

Finding gold in the value chain: how CEOs are exploiting the latest ideas to link themselves to suppliers and customers.(Round Table)
July 1, 2003... Quick! Name a company that revolutionized its industry through world-class supply-chain management. Chances are you picked Dell, Wal-Mart, Cisco or any of a number of the mammoth firms whose names have become virtually synonymous with...

Hitting the fast track.(Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving)
July 1, 2003... Before getting down to business at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, you sit through a classroom session and tour the 60-acre Arizona facility, complete with racetrack, bustling maintenance shop and auto racing museum. Then...

Great everyday rides.(Volvo S60 and the Volkswagen Passat)
July 1, 2003... Okay, back in the real world, we can't spend all our time on the racetrack. We have to compromise. We have to drive vehicles that make sense. Pick up the laundry. Stick the clubs in the trunk. I've recently spent a week in two cars that are...

Got your wealth tied up in your own company?
July 1, 2003... If you've built a company and have a majority of your personal net worth tied up in your own stock, you have a "concentrated equity position." That can be a blessing--but also a curse because you are subject to downward stock price swings and...

Lousy lessons from the battlefield.(lessons CEOs can learn from military history)
July 1, 2003... Recently, The New York Times ran one of those predictably infuriating articles about the lessons CEOs can learn from military history. Proceeding from the assumption that "a battle is an ideal metaphor for corporate decision-making," the...

Getting real about Sarbanes-Oxley.(editorial)(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... Hon. William H. Donaldson Chairman Securities & Exchange Commission Washington, D.C. Dear Bill: We don't blame you for not talking to us for our story on the SEC this month ("The SEC's Man of the Hour," page 30). You're...