Chief Executive (U.S.) articles from June 2002

Chief Executive (U.S.) archives from June 2002

Feedback.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2002... The Importance of Independence I read John Brandt's editor's note, "Enronize This," in the March issue. I agree with his description of the new reality for auditors. The consulting industry as a whole has been swept into the public...

Corrections.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2002... The article "Bagging Profits" and an accompanying chart in the April 2002 issue misstated supermarket giant Albertson's fiscal year reporting period. The article should have stated that Albertson's expects to trim $250 million in costs by the...

Great CEOs: nature or nurture? (Editor's Note).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
June 1, 2002... One of the preoccupations of CEOs--and of this magazine--is the messy and mysterious process by which great leaders, and by extension great orgarnzations, are made. What makes one leader successful while another fails, even though both share...

Chiefs and the economy: what, us worry? (Economic Snapshot).
June 1, 2002... The recessions over, did you hear? GDP grew 5.8 percent in the first quarter. Alan Greenspan's over in a corner uncorking the champagne. So why do bosses remain so gloomy? They say it's not pessimism keeping their purse strings tight; it's...

Dot-com diehard credits hiring. (Strategies of the Fittest).(Michael Levy of SportsLine.com)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
June 1, 2002... Michael Levy has been running SportsLine.com for so long that back when he tried to drum up financing for the sports media site he was turned down by more than 100 venture firms. That was 1994, before the gold rush. Eight years later, with...

Chiquita's top banana. (Arrivals).(Chiquita Brands International Inc.)(Cyrus Freidheim Jr.)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
June 1, 2002... NINE LONG COSTLY YEARS after Chiquita Brands International embarked on its trade war with the European Union for access to Europe's markets, the Cincinnati-based fruit importer has emerged from bankruptcy with new owners and a new CEO. As...

Facing a deposition? Drop the oratory. (Chief Concern).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... What an enviable record I had. After 25 years in consumer products, I had managed to successfully avoid being personally deposed in a single lawsuit. So when my general counsel told me last year that I was being subpoenaed for a deposition in a...

The demise of White House Inc. (Capitol Ideas).(CEO approach to government)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Bush Administration came to office talking about the need to bring the bottom-line sensibility of American business to Washington. After all, President Bush is the first Oval Office occupant to hold an MBA. His aides spoke confidently of a...

Chinese reform banks on MBAs. (Market Horizons).(Brief Article)(Company Profile)(Industry Overview)
June 1, 2002... In Beijing, deep in the halls of the Bank of China, glimmerings of a small revolution are appearing. Corporate governance is emerging in China's oldest bank. It can be seen too in Shanghai and Shenzhen--home to the country's largest stock...

The Top 20 Companies for Leaders: CEOs explain how they got on the list -- and why they're likely to stay there. (Cover Story).
June 1, 2002... "I have always believed that investing in people is the strongest investment you can make," declares Home Depot Chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli, wrapping up a 100-word-a-minute oration about leadership development. It's one of his favorite...

Company of the Future: in one of the world's oldest industries, John Browne is using technology to keep BP on the leading edge. (Technology).(BP Amoco PLC)(Company Profile)
June 1, 2002... Is Lord Browne's oil giant, BP the Company of the Future? The book by that title, authored by Frances Cairncross of the The Economist, argues that the real power of the communications revolution well be in the way it changes the internal...

When customer focus is king. (Case Study).(Boise Office Solutions )(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
June 1, 2002... CHRISTOPHER MILLIKEN HAS seen the future--and it's not about selling paper, pens and waste baskets at rock-bottom prices. In 1998, the CEO of Itasca, Ill.-based Boise Office Solutions recognized that the only way to escape the bruising price...

Are CEOs to blame for tech failures? (Trends to Watch).(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
June 1, 2002... QUITE POSSIBLY. At least those CEOs who've gotten carried away with CRM's promise of huge gains in efficiencies and sales and who have authorized enterprisewide initiatives that don't get buy-in at the product/brand manager level. According to...

Caught in the crosshairs: these plaintiff attorneys are smart, competitive and use tactics every top exec should understand. (Legal).
June 1, 2002... When Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as part of Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, it was to weed out frivolous lawsuits and tilt the legal scales a bit more in favor of CEO's and their companies. ...

Recession? What recession? Southern gentleman John Brown achieves 20 percent earnings growth annually--no matter what. (Profile).(Company Profile)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Immaculately dressed, John W. Brown looks and acts like a perfect Southern gentleman. He insists that you enter the room -- or go through the door -- first. He, not an administrative assistant, fetches you a cup of coffee. He's gracious,...

Global profits, ethical perils: the old adage, "when in Rome do as the Romans do," made decisions easy. The new one, yet to be written, will make life hard. (Global).(AES Corp.'s Dennis Bakke)(Company Profile)
June 1, 2002... Dennis Bakke CEO of AES Corp., the world's largest independent power producer, based in Arlington, Va., is a self-proclaimed "cultural imperialist." His $9.3 billion corporation, he says, doesn't lower its ethical standards in any of the 31...

Capturing the innovation premium: ingenuity is the key to creating customer and shareholder value. But to succeed, you have to be willing to break the rules. (Roundtable).
June 1, 2002... Innovations are ubiquitous--yet elusive. While new products, services and value propositions spring up daily--as businesses continually seek ways to create new markets or reinvent old ones--innovations that can deliver true value remain a...

Does the club still matter? Yes. no. maybe, admit many CEOs who complain about bad food and stuffy atmosphere--but they still belong. (Disposable Income).
June 1, 2002... The year was 1873. Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who earned a fortune with railroad and iron investments, and Henry Clay Frick, a successful investor whose company operated coke ovens in Connellsville, Penn., recognized the importance...

Remembering the glory days. (Flip Side).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Not long ago, The New York Times ran a story about an unusual new car-parking service in New York City. Founded by Theodore Angelus, who made his first fortune in the highly competitive shaving implements industry, the Street Parking Exchange...

Bringing ideas to market: now more than ever, companies must focus on innovation. In this interview, accenture chairman and CEO Joe W. Forehand explains why. (Q & A).(Interview)
June 1, 2002... Q. Innovation is always important in business, but haven't a lot of companies been putting it on the back burner over the past year in order to focus on retrenching and belt-tightening? A. Without question, responding to the...

Leading the creative charge: by treating innovation as a legitimate business process, CEOs are encouraging the development of new ideas from a variety of sources -- and managing the risk that goes with it. (Innovation & the CEO).(chief executive officers)
June 1, 2002... * It's messy expensive, fraught with uncertainty and, well, just plain hard. But innovation is also more essential for growth -- and even survival -- than ever. As we move from a period of economic exuberance to an era of greater...

The customer connection: armed with the knowledge that customers hold the key to their companies' success. CEOs are embracing customer relationship management as a valuable consumer science. (Innovation & the Customer).(chief executive officers)
June 1, 2002... * At the turn of the new century, as shareholders clamored for top-line growth, bleeding-edge innovation became the Holy Grail of competition. Be first on the block with the new product or new paradigm, grab first-mover advantage, and your...

The evolution of outsourcing: the next step for many companies is "transformational outsourcing," allowing them to leverage strategic relationships to enhance their own capabilities. (Innovation & Outsourcing).
June 1, 2002... * Enterprises choose to outsource various functions for all kinds of reasons. The most common ones, according to the Outsourcing Institute, are to reduce and control operating costs, to improve company focus, to gain access to world-class...

Smart thinking: great ideas rarely come out of thin air. Employees need ongoing training to remain focused and engaged. (Innovation & Learning).
June 1, 2002... * According to Cisco CEO John Chambers, "the two great equalizers in life are the Internet and education." And he's been working to make sure that his company has the benefit of both. Internally, Cisco uses e-learning -- the electronic...