Retailer heads list of world's best-performing CEOs
The chief executive of a fast-fashion global powerhouse tops the list Harvard Business Review's annual list of the 100 best-performing CEOs. The chief executive of a fast-fashion global powerhouse tops the list Harvard Business Review's annual list of the 100 best-performing CEOs.
Pablo Isla, head of Spanish apparel retailer Inditex, best known for its flagship brand Zara, is No. 1 on the list, which is different from other leader rankings in that it measures performance for the entire length of a chief executive’s tenure. The only other retailer to crack the top 25 was Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH.
Isla, who ranked No. 3 in last year’s list, has led Inditex on a global expansion since becoming CEO in 2005, increasing its market value sevenfold and making it Spain’s most valuable company. It operates 7,300 stores under eight different banners in 93 countries.
Measured on financial returns alone, Isla comes in #18 in the ranking. But Inditex’s strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, which makes up 20% of each CEO’s ranking, propelled him to the top spot, according to HBR.
To compile the list, Harvard Business Review looked at CEOs of the S&P Global 1200 as of April 30, 2017, and calculated overall shareholder return and increase in market capitalization over their entire tenure. It also factored in two separate ratings of corporate ESG performance.
Interestingly, if Harvard Business Review judged CEOs solely on the basis of financial performance — as it did prior to 2015 — the top-ranked leader would be Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who topped the list in 2014 and has been the best financial performer in every subsequent year. He currently is No. 71.
Here are some ranking statistics from the 2017 list:
• On average, the world’s 100 best CEOs have generated a 2,507% overall return on their stock (adjusted for exchange-rate effects), for a 21% annual return.
• Eight of the top 10 CEOs run European companies.
• 32 CEOs on the list have an engineering degree and 29 have an MBA.
• On average, they became CEO at age 44 and have been in office 17 years.
• For the second year in a row, Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin and Debra Cafaro of Ventas are the only women on the list – reflecting the persistent underrepresentation of women at the top.
Click here to see the complete list.
Pablo Isla, head of Spanish apparel retailer Inditex, best known for its flagship brand Zara, is No. 1 on the list, which is different from other leader rankings in that it measures performance for the entire length of a chief executive’s tenure. The only other retailer to crack the top 25 was Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH.
Isla, who ranked No. 3 in last year’s list, has led Inditex on a global expansion since becoming CEO in 2005, increasing its market value sevenfold and making it Spain’s most valuable company. It operates 7,300 stores under eight different banners in 93 countries.
Measured on financial returns alone, Isla comes in #18 in the ranking. But Inditex’s strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, which makes up 20% of each CEO’s ranking, propelled him to the top spot, according to HBR.
To compile the list, Harvard Business Review looked at CEOs of the S&P Global 1200 as of April 30, 2017, and calculated overall shareholder return and increase in market capitalization over their entire tenure. It also factored in two separate ratings of corporate ESG performance.
Interestingly, if Harvard Business Review judged CEOs solely on the basis of financial performance — as it did prior to 2015 — the top-ranked leader would be Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who topped the list in 2014 and has been the best financial performer in every subsequent year. He currently is No. 71.
Here are some ranking statistics from the 2017 list:
• On average, the world’s 100 best CEOs have generated a 2,507% overall return on their stock (adjusted for exchange-rate effects), for a 21% annual return.
• Eight of the top 10 CEOs run European companies.
• 32 CEOs on the list have an engineering degree and 29 have an MBA.
• On average, they became CEO at age 44 and have been in office 17 years.
• For the second year in a row, Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin and Debra Cafaro of Ventas are the only women on the list – reflecting the persistent underrepresentation of women at the top.
Click here to see the complete list.