Katie Kuehner-Hebert

For Verizon’s CEO Hans Vestberg, the future is now—5G. The telecom giant intends to launch its 5G capabilities in more than 30 U.S. cities this year.

Koch told attendees at the Global Philanthropy Forum conference in Silicon Valley last week that at 83, he's more passionate and working harder than ever. 

Michael Roman, CEO of 3M3M’s Michael Roman likes to think of the multinational conglomerate as a “purpose-driven” company.

Robert Swan—an outsider in the semiconductor business for most of his career— is now officially leading Intel to reach new heights.

One day distributors could be the linchpin that helps patients buy their medications at retail negotiated prices right at the pharmacy counter, says AmerisourceBergen’s CEO Steven Collis.

Under CEO Michael Neidorff, Centene is now the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the U.S., a national leader in managed long-term services and supports, and the country’s number one insurer on the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace. And the St. Louis-based company just keeps growing. Acquisitions and organic growth resulted in better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter: $1.38 per share excluding non-recurring items, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 per share and markedly above $0.97 per share a year ago. In 2018, Centene added 1.8 million members, surpassing the 14 million mark, and grew revenues by 24% to $60.1 billion and adjusted EPS by 41% to $7.08. “2018 was another year of strong growth and accomplishment for Centene,” Neidorff said in the company’s Feb. 5 earnings call. Organic growth included entering three new exchange markets and expanding in six existing Ambetter markets. Year-over-year, Centene’s exchange membership rose by roughly 500,000 members, or 52%, to 1.5 million -- ahead of management’s initial expectations. In Medicaid, the company successfully reprocured contracts in Arizona, Florida, Washington and Kansas and won two new Medicaid contracts in New Mexico and Iowa. Moreover, Centene’s medical management efforts and network initiatives continue to gain traction. The company has also been growing through acquisitions, last year closing the purchase of Fidelis, the only statewide health plan in all 62 counties of New York, Neidorff said. Centene also completed the acquisition of MHS Services, a national provider in healthcare and staffing to correctional systems and other government agencies, as well as the acquisition of Community Medical Group, an at-risk primary care provider in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Centene also increased its ownership to 80% in Interpreta, a technology company focused on clinical and genomic data as well as real-time analytics, made an investment in RxAdvance, a technology-based pharmacy benefits management platform, and purchased a controlling stake in University Hospital of Torreon, in Madrid. “Our strong 2018 results reaffirmed our growth momentum for 2019 and beyond,” Neidorff said. “Our pipeline of growth opportunities is robust and we remain focused on margin expansion.” What distinguishes Neidorff is the consistent business strategy he has taken at the helm of Centene for more than 20 years, according to Money Inc. “He believes in improving the health of communities by providing high-quality care at reasonable costs,” Money Inc. writes. “His beliefs are also reflected in his personal life as he prefers to make a change in his community rather than simply standing on the sidelines hoping things will improve.” He’s No. 66 on Chief Executive and RHR International’s CEO1000 Tracker, a ranking of the top 1,000 public/private companies.

Michael Neidorff, Centene

Headquarters: St. Louis, MO

Age: 76

Education:  Trinity University (B.S.) St. Francis University (M.A)

First joined company: 1996

Prior to joining Centene: Coventry

Named CEO: 1996

David MacLennan joined Cargill in 1991, and worked his way through the ranks to become the ninth CEO since the country’s largest private company first opened its doors in 1865.

While ADM is not interested in making “monster acquisitions” at this time, that isn’t stopping one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers from gobbling up smaller companies, says CEO and Chairman Juan Luciano.

Publix Super Markets’ CEO Todd Jones is a prime example of how the country’s largest employee-owned grocery chain is known for nurturing the careers of its workers. In 1980 Jones began working as front-service clerk—aka a bagger—at a Publix store in New Smyrna Beach, assuming more positions until becoming store manager in 1988. He then embarked on the corporate ladder, leading the local district in 1997 and two years later, becoming the regional director for the Jacksonville region. After Jones and his team were able to successfully boost Publix’s share of the Jacksonville market—in part by capitalizing on Winn-Dixie’s decline, Jones was placed on the executive track. In 2008, he was named the company’s president, and in 2016 became CEO, the first non-member of the founding Jenkins family to lead the Lakeland, Fla.-based company since the first Publix opened in 1930. Industry sources at the time said that Jones was a natural choice. “You hear a lot of great things about how knowledgeable he is within the business,” Supermarket News retail editor Jon Springer told the Orlando Sentinel. “He is a hands-on guy. He’s worked in every part of the industry and he’s a doer as well as a leader.” Publix is now one of the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains in the country, with 1,213 stores, nine distribution centers and 11 manufacturing facilities. The grocery employs more than 190,000 people and it’s last reported annual sales was $34.6 billion in 2017. Under Jones’ leadership, Publix is expanding a separately-branded store, GreenWise Market, to compete with the likes of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. The brand is geared toward “natural and specialty customers,” with organic produce and cheeses, antibiotic-free meats, vegan items and an expanded line of GreenWise seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as coming from sustainable fisheries. Stores also include a beverage bar serving kombucha, local craft beer, wine, smoothies and locally-roasted coffee, and a large mezzanine where customers can eat and “connect.” In October, the company opened the first GreenWise Market in Tallahassee, Fla. and six additional locations across the Southeast are slated to open this year. Publix has also strengthened its partnership with grocery delivery service Instacart by making it available at all of its locations. The company is also experimenting with the service, and has filed plans with the City of Tampa's zoning board to create an “Instacart staging room” and event-planning office inside a South Tampa store. But what really sets Publix apart is its customer service, as workers of the employee-owned company have a particular stake in how it performs, Jones told the Sarasota Business Observer. Employees who want to rise at Publix should have “skin in the game” and purchase Publix stock, he said. Then, “learn as much as you can about the business and be totally committed.” The grocer is known for its numerous awards, including “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Supermarket Pharmacies, Eight out of the last Ten Years” by J.D. Power; one of the World’s Most Valuable Brands in Brand Finance magazine (2018); Retailer of the Year by Store Brands magazine (2017); one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies (1994–2018); one of Fortune's “100 Best Companies to Work For” for 20 consecutive years (1998–2018), which earned Publix recognition as one of the Great Place to Work Legends; one of the Great Rated! “Best Workplaces in Retail," "Best Workplaces for Women," "Best Workplaces for Diversity" (2017) and "Best Workplaces for Millennials" (2018). He’s No. 85 on Chief Executive and RHR International’s CEO1000 Tracker, a ranking of the top 1,000 public/private companies.

Todd Jones, CEO of Publix

Headquarters: Lakeland, FL Age: 55 Education: N/A First joined company: 1980 Prior to joining Publix: N/A Named CEO: 2016

Following the acquisition of Time Warner in June 2018, AT&T is now positioned as a “modern media company,” says Randall L. Stephenson, chairman and CEO.