business person

8/3/2019 Business Person

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1. Steve Jobs

Chairman and CEO, Apple

During the first two decades of his remarkable 30-year career, the Apple Inc. founder twicealtered the direction of the computer industry. In 1977 the Apple II kicked off the PC era, and thegraphical user interface launched by Macintosh in 1984 has been aped by every other computersince. Along the way Jobs conceived of "desktop publishing," gave the world the laser printer,and pioneered personal computer networks. As a side gig he bankrolled Pixar, which fostered thedevelopment of the technology and a brand-new business model for creating computer-animatedfeature films.

Since returning to Apple in 1997, he has changed the dynamics of consumer electronics with theiPod, and persuaded the music industry, the television networks, and Hollywood to distributetheir wares with the iTunes Music Store. With his hugely successful Apple Stores, he gave the

big-box boys a lesson in high-margin, high-touch retailing. And this year, at the height of hiscreative and promotional powers, Jobs orchestrated Apple's entry into the cellular telephonebusiness with the iPhone.

That's five industries that Jobs has upended - computers, Hollywood, music, retailing, andwireless phones. At this moment, no one has more influence over a broader swath of businessthan Jobs.--Brent Schlender

1) Carlos Slim Helu


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Mexican tycoon Carlo Slim Helu dethroned Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to claim theWorlds no. 1 Billionaire title. Gates has held the No. 1 spot for as many as 14 times in the past15 years. According to Forbes, Slims fortune swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5billion in 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which he owns a 23-billion-dollar stake, wentup by as much as 35% during the year.

Born to a Lebanese immigrant father, Slim learned his business acumen at an early age. Slimstudied civil engineering and later built up the telephone monopoly Telmex after acquiring itfrom the government in 1990. The softly-spoken billionaire last month received authorisation tomerge three of his telecommunications companies to form a regional giant, with 250 millioncustomers in 18 countries. Slim, a widower with six children, has handed over the daily

operations of his companies to his three sons and business partners. A baseball fanatic, Slim isalso well-known for his philanthropy.

2) Bill Gates


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With a net worth of $53 billion, worlds second richest man is software czar Bill Gates. Fifty-four-year old Gates net worth went up by $13 billion during the last year as Microsoft sharesrose almost 50%. According to Forbes, more than 60% of his fortune come from outsideMicrosoft, which includes investments from Four Seasons hotels, Televisa and Auto Nation.

In 2009, Gates topped the Forbes The Worlds billionaires list, beating investor Warren Buffett.A Harvard College dropout, Gates topped the Billionaires list for past 15 years in a row (from1993 to 2007). In 2008, he held the second spot. Born on October 28, 1955, Gates resigned asMicrosoft chairman in 2008 to take up a full-time philanthropic role in the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation.

3) Lawrence Ellison


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Worlds sixth richest person and technology industrys third riches person is Oracle co-founderand CEO Lawrence Joseph Ellison, popularly known as Larry Ellison. With a net worth of $28billion, Ellison slipped two ranks down this year from 4th position last year. The company thatrecently closed the $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems, last year saw its share upalmost 70%. In the past five years, Oracle has made as many as 57 acquisitions, including BEA

Systems (bought for $8.5 billion in 2008). The company also invested $125 million in Websoftware outfit Netsuite.

Sixty-five-year-old Ellison started Oracle Corp in 1977. Two years younger to arch rivalMicrosoft corp, Oracle went public a day before Microsoft in 1986. A licensed pilot, Ellison issaid to own several unusual aircrafts. Known for his flamboyant lifestyle, Ellison has got aleisure boat built for himself. Chicago native studied physics at University of Chicago, but didntcomplete his graduation.

4) Sergey Brin & Larry Page

At 24th spot on Forbes billionaires list are Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page witha net worth of $17.5 billion each. Last year saw Googles fortune going up by $5.5 billion withshares of the search giant soaring 70%. The company who is gung ho on its open source platformAndroid recently unveiled its first branded smartphone Nexus One.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page started Google in 1998 from a friends garage. A native of Moscow,Brin, now a US citizen, did his Bachelors of Science degree with honors in mathematics andcomputer science from the University of Maryland at College Park. While following in his


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fathers footsteps in academics, Larry went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree inengineering from University of Michigan. Page was Googles founding CEO and grew thecompany to more than 200 employees and profitability before moving into his role as president,products in April 2001. Today, the two continue to share the responsibility ofGoogles day-to-day operations with CEO Eric Schmidt. Sergeys research interests include search engines,

information extraction from unstructured sources and datamining of large text collections andscientific data.

5) Azim Premji

At No. 28 on the worlds richest list is the chairman of the Indias third largest software companyWipro, Azim Premji. Sixty-four-year old Premji heads $5.5 billion (revenues) Wipro, and has apersonal net worth of $17 billion. In its last quarter (Q3), Wipro reported a 19% rise in profit,and projected growth as the global economic recovery boosts demand for outsourcing.

In Forbes 2009 list, Premji stood at No. 83, with a net worth of $5.7 billion. A graduate in

Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, US, Premji took over the Wipro mantle at theyoung age of 21, after the sudden demise of his father in 1966. Under his leadership, thefledgling $2 million-hydrogenated cooking fat company has today grown into Indias third-largest software company.

6) Steven Ballmer


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The second Microsoftie on the Forbes Billionaires list is Microsoft CEO Steven A Ballmer.Ballmer ranks at No. 33 with a net personal net worth estimated to be $14.5 billion. After seriesof failed attempts to strike a deal with Yahoo, Microsoft recently signed a 10-year deal with thecompany under which its own search engine Bing becomes the search engine for Microsoft andYahoo sites. In its last quarter, Microsoft earnings jumped 60%, helped by a rebound in PC sales.

A college mate of Bill Gate, Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the first businessmanager to be hired by Gates. He became CEO in 2000. During his tenure at Microsoft, Ballmerhas headed several divisions, including operations, operating systems development and sales andsupport. Described as ebullient, focused, funny, passionate, sincere, hard-charging and dynamic,Ballmer is said to have imparted his own brand of energetic leadership, vision and spirit atMicrosoft over the years. Like his boss, Ballmer too dropped out of Stanford MBA programmeto join Gates in 1980.

7) Anil Ambani


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Next Desi honcho on the list is Reliance Communications (RCom) head Anil Ambani at No. 36.Slipping two positions from last years ranking, Anils net worth is estimated to be $13.7 billion,up from $10.1 billion in 2009.

Last year saw the biggest fall in Anils net worth when he slipped from 6th position to 34th.Anils Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has interests in telecom, power, infrastructure,financial services and entertainment. Anil did bachelor of Arts/Science graduate from Universityof Bombay. He later did MBA from the university of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.

Paul Allen


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Another billionaire from Microsofts camp is Paul Allen ranked at no. 37. Allen co-foundedMicrosoft with Bill Gates in 1975. His net worth is estimated to be $13.5 billion, up $3 billionfrom $10.5 billion last year.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983 after being diagnosed by Hodgkins disease. Microsoft now makes

up around 25% of his net worth. Recently, Allen launched software outfit Xiant, whose productFiler helps users keep track of emails in Microsoft Outlook. Fifty-seven-year old Allen also ownstwo professional sports teams, Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and PortlandTrail Blazers of the National Basketball Association.

9) Michael Dell

Sharing position with Paul Allen at No. 37 is CEO of the worlds second largest PC company,Michael Dell. With a net worth of $13.5 billion, Michael Dell slipped 12 ranks this year. He wasranked an No. 25 in Forbes billionaires list of 2009. In the past six months Dell stock has gonedown by nearly 10% and the companys revenue fell by nearly 13% in year ended January 2010.

Forty-five-year-old Dell started a company called PCs Limited from a room, while still studyingat the University of Texas. The company later became Dell Computer Corporation, followed byDell Inc in 2003. In 1998, Dell formed MSD Capital and in 1999, he and his wife formed theMichael & Susan Dell Foundation, to manage the investments and philanthropic efforts,respectively, of the Dell family.

10) Jeffrey Bezos


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Next richest techie in the list is Amazon.com CEO Jeffrey Bezos ranked at No. 43. With apersonal net Worth of $12.3 billion, forty-six-year-old Bezos jumped 19 ranks this year. Rankedat no. 62 in 2009, Bezos net worth nearly doubled in the past year from last years $6.8 billion.Amazons stock has jumped almost 100% in the past few months. In 2009, Amazon alsoacquired online shoe retailer Zappos for $800 million in stock. The company which made

headlines with the launch of Kindle digital book reader in 2007, saw its net income up 40% in2008 as the company debuted Kindle 2.

Bezos founded Amazon.com Inc and has been its CEO since May 1996, the Chairman of theBoard since 1994, and the President since October 2000. Previously, he served as the Presidentof Amazon from 1994 to June 1999. Bezos served as the President and Chief Executive Officerat Padcom. Before starting Amazon, he worked at the intersection of computer science andfinance, helping build hedge funds on Wall Street for DE Shaw & Co. Bezos completedElectrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University in 1986.

6. Rex Tillerson

Chairman and CEO, Exxon Mobil

An oilman down to his boots, Tillerson makes no apologies for running the world's biggest non-state-run oil company. Exxon Mobil gets high marks for the quality of its operations, and its

stock has out-distanced the S&P 500 on Tillerson's watch. He has even made something of amodest PR splash by acknowledging the possibility of global warming, something his pricklypredecessor never did. Exxon under Tillerson has learned that it needn't pick a fight in order tothrow around its weight. --Jon Birger


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8. Jeff ImmeltChairman and CEO, GE

General Electric's chief executive is powerful for many reasons, but here's one that's oftenoverlooked: the company's AAA credit rating. Only six U.S. industrial corporations hold thatcredential, and it gives GE a huge competitive advantage in the finance-related businesses thatbring in most of its profit. It also helps the company sell its big-ticket products - jet engines,industrial turbines, CT scanners, locomotives, and so forth - by offering financing thatcompetitors can't beat. Add a century of experience in developing theworld's best managersandmanagement practices, and GE becomes a very tough organization to catch up with or oppose.

As if running a company like that didn't make him powerful enough, Immelt is also chairman ofthe Business Council, the group of top-tier CEOs that influences government policy, and on theboard of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. --Geoff Colvin
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10. A.G. LafleyChairman and CEO, Procter & Gamble

Since taking charge in 2000, when Procter & Gamble was sinking under the weight of too manynew products and organizational changes, Lafley has refocused on consumers and rejuvenatedcore businesses. P&G now boasts 23 billion-dollar brands, including Tide, Crest, Pampers,Gillette, Olay, Pantene, and the latest addition, Gain laundry detergent.

By denouncing insularity and demanding innovation in everything that P&G does, this companylifer has pushed P&G toward higher-margin areas like health, beauty, and personal care. Thepayback: Profits have tripled on his watch, to more than $10 billion on $76.5 billion in revenues.

Of course, Lafley has bought some of that growth; the acquisition of Gillette for $54 billion in2005 was the largest in company history. But it is the record of organic growth - an average of6% a year - that has made P&G a stock market standout and Lafley a role model for other CEOs.--Patricia SellersTell us what you think

11. John Chambers
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Chairman and CEO, Cisco

"What do you think?" Turning the tables on his questioners is a Chambers trademark, and thereinlies a key to the power of Cisco's CEO. The soft-spoken West Virginian has turned listening intothe art of making a sale - and few sell better. Everywhere he goes he makes converts to theInternet. Cisco's equipment, far more than any other company's, tells all those digital bits whereto go. Without it the world would come to a standstill.

At less than $30, the stock is far below its split-adjusted peak of $80 in 2000. But financiallyCisco is stronger than ever, and Chambers deserves a lot of the credit. Revenues for fiscal 2007were $35 billion, up 22%. At $7.3 billion, profits rose 31% - and have climbed almost threefold

since 2000. --David Kirkpatrick

13. Lee Scott


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CEO, Wal-Mart

Why is Lee Scott still on this list? Sales growth at Wal-Mart has stalled; it's embroiled in a class-action employee lawsuit; Scott has led botched forays into fashion and home dcor; and, ofcourse, the company name has become a byword for middlebrow values with a dash of nakedcapitalism. But he's here because Wal-Mart is still America's biggest company (2006 revenues:$351 billion), and Scott still runs the place. About one of every ten non-auto retail dollars in theU.S. is spent at a Wal- Mart. It is also the nation's biggest energy consumer, its biggest real estatedeveloper, and its biggest non-government employer. More than that, the company may beturning a corner. Healthy profits in its most recent quarter bode well for the holiday, and Scott ispushing a slew of eco-friendly initiatives that are alleviating some of that bad PR. --Matthew

Boyle

6. Mark Hurd


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Chairman and CEO, Hewlett-Packard

When the steely Midwesterner signed on to run Hewlett-Packard in 2005, the company was inthe dumps. The board had fired his predecessor, the high-profile Carly Fiorina; morale was low;and the numbers were not looking good.

All that has changed. HP is back at the top of its game. In its most recent results, net earningsrose 28% on revenue growth of 15% - and the company is so bullish that it ordered an $8 billionbuyback. The Silicon Valley stalwart has overtaken Dell as the leader in the personal computermarket and is turning out innovative products, such as the video-conferencing system Halo. Oh,and its stock price has tripled under Hurd, who emerged pretty much unscathed by theboardroom pretexting scandal in 2006.

What does the chief executive have to say about all this? Precious little. Hurd, 50, avoids thelimelight, but there is no doubt in anyone's mind who is piloting the ship. --Adam Lashinsky

8. Marius Kloppers


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CEO, BHP Billiton

Talk about being in a hurry: Kloppers took over as chief executive of the world's biggest miningcompany by market capitalization (some $200 billion) on Oct. 1. One month later he launched a$150 billion takeover bid for rival Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto; the combined entitywould be a resources superpower with a larger market cap than Microsoft and higher revenues(some $70 billion combined in 2007) than Dell or Boeing.

Mining insiders weren't too surprised by the move. Kloppers, a 45-year-old vegetarian, has areputation as an aggressive executive with superior intellectual bandwidth. BHP produces, invast quantities, industrial staples like iron ore, copper, coal, nickel, uranium, oil, gas, andaluminum. That makes K loppers a crucial middleman in the global economy. --Brian O'Keefe

0. Carlos Slim


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Chair, TelMex and Carso Foundation

Slim's companies help Latin America work. His Amrica Mvil wireless service operates in 16countries and provides phone service to more than 137 million customers. In his home country,Mexico, Slim's TelMex controls more than 90% of the phone connections. His companies buildroads and erect oil platforms, his banks loan money to businesses and consumers alike, and heeven sells knickknacks through his Sanborn's retail chain.

The son of a Lebanese immigrant, Slim, 67, has a personal fortune of about $59 billion, makinghim the world's richest man; Slim-controlled companies make up one-third of the $422 billionMexican stock exchange - a position of unique dominance. It is all but impossible for the averageMexican to function without interacting with a Slim-controlled company in some way every day.Slim shrugs off accusations he is a monopolist or an oligarch. With family members installed atvarious Slim companies, the billionaire is spending more time giving away some of his fortune. --Step

23. Ratan Tata


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Chairman, Tata Group

As head of one of India's most venerated family businesses, Tata, 69, has unique stature. TheTata Group, which is one of India's largest conglomerates, includes India's largest softwarehouse, one of its most prestigious hotel chains (the Taj), and sprawling steelmaking operations,as well as leading players in consulting, wireless, and cable services. Since taking over in 1991,Tata has made numerous big-ticket deals. But his heart is set on a project closer to home:creating a $2,500 car that middle-class Indians can buy. --Clay Chandler

Tell us what you think
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