Editorial Calendar 2016

January/February 2016

40 Best Companies for Leaders
Annual ranking of 40 best global and 10 best private companies for developing and growing leaders within. Examines leadership development ROI and direct involvement of the CEO.

CEO Talent Summit: Coverage of Chief Executive’s Event in Dallas, Sept. 29-Oct. 1
Contributors: CJ Prince and Jennifer Pellet

How Real Is the Income Inequality Issue—and What, if Anything, Should Be Done About It?
Ten to 12 prominent CEOs across the spectrum are canvassed for their point of view. Contributor: Dale Buss

Protecting Your Company from Cyber Threats: Your data, IP and brand are all at risk
Today’s security defenses are failing because, in the battle against cybercrime, security teams are using an outdated arsenal. They rely too heavily on legacy platforms that leverage technology dependent upon signatures—and while these platforms may be good at blocking basic malware that is known and documented, they stand little chance against today’s sophisticated, dynamic cyber attacks that occur across multiple vectors and stages. This feature identifies specific steps CEOs ought to take to elevate their company’s defense. It will also look at how leading edge companies are improving their games. Contributor: Bill Holstein

Regional Economic Development Report: Southwest
A state-by-state look at what the region has to offer businesses and why CEOs choose to locate or operate there. In addition to new developments and incentives, the report examines select major metro areas, regional industry clusters and cooperation initiatives between states. Contributor: Warren Strugatch

Columns and Departments

Making Technology Work An expert focuses on a critical technology issue facing many CEOs and how best to address it.

Sonnenfeld Yale School of Management’s Jeff Sonnenfeld opines on topical leadership, governance and enterprise issues facing business leaders.

Chief Concerns RHR International CEO Tom Saporito comments on organizational and leadership issues and what CEOs can do about them.

Executive Life Fun & luxury high-tech gadgets for CEOs. Contributor: Michael Gelfand

March/April 2016

Cover: Digital Transformation Leadership Summit coverage

Big Data and Machine Learning: What CEOs Need to Know
Machine learning—a technique in which a computer churn through data and, in effect, writes its own program based on the statistical relationships it discovers—is one of the most effective means of extracting value from unstructured data. One dramatic demonstration of the power of machine learning is Google’s online language translation tool. Among the larger impacts machine learning will have is how organizing unstructured data using predictive analytics will transform knowledge-based jobs. Organizations are likely to flatten and layers of middle management will evaporate. Productivity-enhancing outcomes, such as automating project management, will further increase organizational productivity. Contributor: Dale Buss

Regional Economic Development Report: Northeast
A state-by-state look at what the region has to offer businesses and why CEOs choose to locate or operate there. In addition to new developments and incentives, the report examines select major metro areas, regional industry clusters and cooperation initiatives between states. Contributor: Warren Strugatch

Plane Advantage: The Benefits of Business Aviation
Business aviation offers CEOs a business tool that can help augment productivity, create time and generate unprecedented efficiency. This 3-part series will cover CEOs and their companies that utilize business aircraft daily to gain a competitive advantage. In addition to analysis and recommendations for choosing the best business aviation services, the series includes business aircraft acquisition strategies, insights on charter, fractional ownership and jet card programs. Series will be included in the March/April, July/August, November/December editions. Contributor: Mark Patiky

Columns and Departments

Making Technology Work An expert focuses on a critical technology issue facing many CEOs and how best to address it.

Sonnenfeld Yale School of Management’s Jeff Sonnenfeld opines on topical leadership, governance and enterprise issues facing business leaders.

Chief Concerns RHR International CEO Tom Saporito comments on organizational and leadership issues and what CEOs can do about them.

Executive Life A CEO guide to private aviation options (fractional, prepaid cards, charter, ownership) including pros and cons and approximate costs. Contributor: Michael Gelfand

May/June 2016

Cover: 12^th Annual Best and Worst States for Business
This special report presents the results of Chief Executive’s annual survey of CEOs’ perception of the competitiveness of the states based on tax and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment. A series of sidebars will explore why some states succeed and others continue to struggle. Contributor: J.P. Donlon
Sidebar: A review of state workforce readiness, state education and job creation programs.
Sidebar: How public-private economic funding models work. Contributor: Dale Buss

Marketing in Milliseconds: Taking Mobility to the Next Level
What better way to sell something to a consumer or a business than to know what it is they need before they express it? Companies are using sophisticated technologies to forecast purchasing-behaviors and then customize their marketing messages based on this intelligence. But is mobile marketing really working as its advocates claim? Can it backfire? By digitally accumulating data on a customer’s demographics, social media interactions, and Internet search and browsing activities, and blending this knowledge with external social, market and economic data, businesses can generate personalized and hopefully more effective pitches.

Disrupt Yourself
As Clayton Christensen described so well in The Innovator’s Dilemma, leaders of all companies in technology-related fields face a fundamental dilemma: if they have a product on the market but realize there is a newer technology that will disrupt that market, they can either cling to their current product or make the leap to the new. That may be easier for a large company to do because it has many product lines and can rely on a broader base of sales. But how do mid-market CEOs, with fewer product lines, do it? Contributor: Bill Holstein

How Washington Punishes Small and Midmarket Businesses
And what CEOs can do to fight back!
Politicians love to praise entrepreneurs and small business leaders, but the legislative record tells another story. Many laws and regulations are often crafted to favor big business and put the small and midsize firm at a competitive disadvantage. Bigger firms enjoy tax advantages and loopholes that are unavailable to others. According to research organization Good Jobs First, two-thirds of the $68 billion in business grants and special tax credits awarded by the federal government over the past 15 years went to big corporations. One way forward is to get Congress to shore up local community banks which supply the larger share of small business loans. A good start would be to address the shortage of credit and the decline of local banks. Contributor: Dale Buss

Columns and Departments

Making Technology Work An expert focuses on a critical technology issue facing many CEOs and how best to address it.

Sonnenfeld Yale School of Management’s Jeff Sonnenfeld opines on topical leadership, governance and enterprise issues facing business leaders.

Chief Concerns RHR International CEO Tom Saporito comments on organizational and leadership issues and what CEOs can do about them.

Executive Life

Is Your Home Safe from Cyber Thieves? The very tools that we depend on to boost productivity, manage our busy lives and communicate with family members and colleagues—smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs—make us all vulnerable to cyber theft and mischief. From Wi-Fi in the home to a teenage son or daughter’s email account, the points of potential entry for saboteurs and data thieves are many and varied. At a time when even companies with significant resources dedicated to securing their systems are breached on virtually a daily basis, how can CEOs guard their home PCs and tech tools from cyber thieves and vandals? This article will outline the dangers and offer steps that CEOs and their family members can take to mitigate the risks. Michael Gelfand

July/August 2016

Cover: 31^st Annual Chief Executive of the Year
Who will be the peer-driven choice for the most outstanding CEO of the year? Our cover feature will profile a business leader who exemplifies strong leadership and has a track record of sustained performance. An in-depth interview with the CEO of the Year will highlight the lessons business leaders can glean from 2016’s beacon of excellence.

Smart Manufacturing Summit IV

Eighty percent of U.S. manufacturers say digital operations are a “critical driver of manufacturing competitiveness,” according to a recent survey. Yet only 13 percent feel that their own organization has digital manufacturing capabilities. This feature will explore the insights about 21st century manufacturing that CEOs, including Harley-Davidson’s Matthew S. Levatich, share at Chief Executive‘s Smart Manufacturing Summit held April 6-7 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Why and Where Companies Are Reshoring
How some companies are re-defining their global value chains
One-third (37 percent) of manufacturers with annual sales above $1 billion and 48 percent with sales in excess of $10 billion say they are planning or actively considering shifting production facilities from China to the U.S. Statistics from The Reshoring Initiative show that Ford shifted 3,250 jobs from Mexico to Ohio and Michigan, ranking second to Walmart among companies reshoring over the previous five years. The world’s largest retailer reportedly moved 4,444 jobs back to the U.S. from a variety of countries, while General Motors brought 1,800 jobs from Mexico into the U.S. This feature will examine the reshoring trend these and other companies, including supply chain company Flextronics, hair products company Farouk Systems, electronics company NCR and aerospace giant Boeing, demonstrate, looking at how fundamental assumptions about labor and productivity in our economy have changed and how companies respond to incentives. Contributor: Bill Holstein

Corporate Citizenship: Radical Engagement
Traditionally, companies have relied on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a way to engage with stakeholders, yet less than 30 percent of CEOs believe their companies engage successfully. Drawing on personal experience, Johne Brown offers an insightful op-ed that demonstrates how integrating societal and environmental issues in a companies strategy and operations can be a key differentiator for companies and the CEOs who lead them. Contributor: Johne Browne, former CEO of BP

Surefire Ways to Keep Your Best Employees from Leaving
The traditional ‘rank and yank’ method of evaluating employees annually has not worked well for many companies. Managers still tend to pick employees who are most like themselves and formal annual reviews are increasingly viewed as ineffective. More and more companies, including Accenture, Microsoft, Medtronic and Adobe, have dropped are shunning traditional methods in favor of other systems, some based in part on ideas crowdsourced from employees. This feature will explore new methods of evaluating and incentivizing employees, such as Adobe’s Check In, in which employees “check in” with their bosses for real-time discussions about how things are going regularly throughout the year. Contributor: C.J. Prince

Regional Economic Development Report: West
A state-by-state look at what the region has to offer businesses and why CEOs choose to locate or operate there. In addition to new developments and incentives, the report examines select major metro areas, regional industry clusters and cooperation initiatives between states. Contributor: Warren Strugatch

Columns and Departments

Making Technology Work In each column an expert presents a critical technology issue facing many CEOs and offers steps on how best to address it.

Sonnenfeld Yale School of Management’s Jeff Sonnenfeld opines on topical leadership, governance and enterprise issues facing business leaders.

Chief Concerns RHR International CEO Tom Saporito explores organizational and leadership issues and what CEOs can learn from the experiences of their peers.

Executive Life Luxury keepsake watches for collectors and CEO aficionados. Contributor: Michael Gelfand

September/October 2016

Compensation Report
Chief Executive’s original research on private company CEO compensation examines pay differentials by type of ownership as well as by a variety of dimensions: company revenue size, number of employees, growth rate, and level of profitability. Contributors: Wayne Cooper and Andrew Aulenti

Managing Relations with the Big Guys
Large companies, such as General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, and Intel, often invest in smaller companies with promising technologies and offer to sit on their boards. The arrangement can be hugely positive if it serves to ratify the smaller company’s technology in the marketplace and if the board member from the large company is able to offer constructive advice and mentoring. But it also can backfire—suddenly the smaller company’s great ideas are being used or developed at the large company without proper licensing or agreement of any kind. What are the do’s and don’ts in managing these relationships with large companies? Contributor: Bill Holstein

Should I Hand the Company to My Children or Should I Sell?
Entrepreneurs and founding chairmen often face a dilemma about the enterprises they have built and run over their lifetime. Sometimes the next generation isn’t ready or willing to take over. But the urge to keep the business going in the family is nonetheless strong. Here are steps that founders and entrepreneurs can take to pave the way for a smooth ownership transition. Contributor: Bill Holstein

R&D’s Midmarket Contrarians
There’s a lot of handwringing these days about the general decline in basic R&D by U.S. companies and the consequential paucity of innovation because of it. We look at three midmarket companies that are succeeding contrary to that trend because of a particular focus and ability to execute. Contributor: Dale Buss

Closing the Skills Gap
Are Contingent Workers a Partial Answer? America’s manufacturing sector will likely require an estimated 3.4 million workers over the next decade (2015-2025) according to a report from Deloitte LLP. Of these, nearly 2 million jobs are expected to remain unfilled due to a shortage of workers with the skills necessary to operate in a 21^st century advanced manufacturing environment. With a recent report from Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showing that job openings in the U.S. are at a 15-year high, one might conclude that there is no slack in U.S. labor markets. But that’s not yet the case. A small business survey shows U.S. businesses increasingly struggling to find “quality labor.” The percentage of small businesses with unfilled job openings is now above the pre-recession levels. To be sure, those trying to hire are getting dozens of applications. But the applicants lack the skills businesses are looking for. Contributor: Russ Banham

Regional Economic Development Report: Southeast
A state-by-state look at what the region has to offer businesses and why CEOs choose to locate or operate there. In addition to new developments and incentives, the report examines select major metro areas, regional industry clusters and cooperation initiatives between states. Contributor: Warren Strugatch

Event coverage: Chief Executive of the Year Celebration at the New York Stock Exchange and CEO roundtables

Columns and Departments

Making Technology Work An expert focuses on a critical technology issue facing many CEOs and how best to address it.

Sonnenfeld Yale School of Management’s Jeff Sonnenfeld opines on topical leadership, governance and enterprise issues facing business leaders.

Chief Concerns RHR International CEO Tom Saporito comments on organizational and leadership issues and what CEOs can do about them.

Special Report Preventative Health Strategies for CEOs. Contributor: Jennifer Pellet

November/December 2016

CEO Outlook 2017
Chief Executive asks CEOs of companies of various industries and firm size to talk about the challenges ahead for their firm and for business in general. Contributor: Dale Buss

CEO Wealth Creators
Who is generating real value? This is the 8th annual ranking of CEOs who have generated real economic—as opposed to accounting—value as measured by EVA Dimensions’ metrics, economic value added (EVA) and market value added (MVA). These identify top companies that create real returns in excess of their risk-adjusted cost of capital. Contributors: Bennett Stuart and Drew Morris

Family-Owned Companies and Their Advisory Boards
Family-owned companies often have different branches of the family and different generations of the family represented in their management ranks. To avoid having business issues spill over into the family and poison those personal relationships, many family-owned companies create advisory boards of outside experts who seek to offer neutral opinions about business challenges. What are the right ways and wrong ways to create those advisory boards? What function do they serve? And what are best practices in working with them? Contributor: Bill Holstein

The Internet of Things is Not Just for Manufacturers
The real potential of the IoT lies in how the connection of information, nearly 8 billion people, and more than 75 billion devices is radically transforming business processes. Although the IoT is not a brand-new idea, new technologies are changing how it’s leveraged. Sensors are becoming increasingly inexpensive, making it possible to affordably track anything imaginable with these powerful, yet tiny devices. Note also the growing computing power that’s allowing organizations to deal with an overwhelming volume of data in real time—no matter the source or complexity of the information. Not only are companies capturing the information and measuring high-level performance, they are also making sense of the information to gain competitive insight. This feature will underscore how CEOs at all size companies can leverage this important technology. Contributor: Bill Holstein

How to Shop for Advice
CEOs spend over $200 billion a year on advice from consultants, yet often base their purchase decisions mainly on intuition and casual connections with partners at specific firms. While dozens of consulting firms compete in the heavily fractionalized middle market, in recent years the top strategic consultancies—McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Bain—have quietly expanded their footprint from Fortune 100 companies into a wide swath of midsized firms. To help midmarket CEOs assess, choose and contract with strategic-consulting firms, this feature will identify leading strategic consultancies in North America that are experienced in helping midsize enterprises; provide capsule descriptions of their cultures, strengths, weaknesses and operational styles; and detail operational benchmarks that measure consulting performance. Contributor: Warren Strugatch

Regional Economic Development Report: Midwest
A state-by-state look at what the region has to offer businesses and why CEOs choose to locate or operate there. In addition to new developments and incentives, the report examines select major metro areas, regional industry clusters and cooperation initiatives between states. Contributor: Warren Strugatch

Chief Executive‘s Guide to Executive Health and Wellness Programs Between the challenges of eating smart and exercising regularly on the road and the stress of keeping stakeholders happy, even the most health-conscious CEO can struggle to make their own physical well-being a priority. Yet, executives who fail to do so put both themselves and their companies at risk. The good news? More and more medical institutions are offering executive programs that couple comprehensive physical exams and medical consultations with lifestyle counseling that can help c-suite executives take a holistic and proactive approach to maintaining their health. This special report will provide a guide to the leading programs around the country and input from top doctors about the diagnostic tests and screenings c-suite executives should consider. Writers: Jennifer Pellet and C.J. Prince

Columns and Departments

Making Technology Work An expert focuses on a critical technology issue facing many CEOs and how best to address it.

Sonnenfeld Yale School of Management’s Jeff Sonnenfeld opines on topical leadership, governance and enterprise issues facing business leaders.

Chief Concerns RHR International CEO Tom Saporito comments on organizational and leadership issues and what CEOs can do about them.

Executive Life Fun and exotic short-stay getaways for busy CEOs. Contributor: Michael Gelfand

ChiefExecutive.net

January/February 2016

Columns and Departments

March/April 2016

Columns and Departments

May/June 2016

Columns and Departments

July/August 2016

Columns and Departments

September/October 2016

Columns and Departments

November/December 2016

Columns and Departments