From Scientist To CEO
April 22, 2025
| 2015 Rank | 2014 Rank | ||
| 1 | General Electric/Jeffrey Immelt | -3 | P&G/A.G. Lafley |
| 2 | IBM/Virginia Rometty | -2 | IBM/Virginia Rometty |
| 3 | P&G/A.G. Lafley | -1 | General Electric/Jeffrey Immelt |
| 4 | EMC/Joseph Tucci | -26 | Accenture/Pierre Nanterme |
| 5 | Verizon Communications/Lowell McAdam | -14 | Unilever/Paul Polman |
| 6 | VF Corporation/Eric Wiseman | -11 | Dow Chemical/Andrew Liveris |
| 7 | Southwest Airlines/Gary Kelly | -18 | McDonald’s/Donald Thompson |
| 8 | Wipro Ltd./T.K. Kurien | Monsanto/Hugh Grant | |
| 9 | The Cooper Companies/Robert Weiss | -36 | Hormel Foods/Jeffrey Ettinger |
| 10 | Dow Chemical/Andrew Liveris | -6 | General Mills/Kendall Powell |
| 11 | 3M/Inge Thulin | -23 | VF Corporation/Eric Wiseman |
| 12 | Xerox/Ursula Burns | W.W. Grainger/James Ryan | |
| 13 | Ingersoll Rand/Michael Lamach | -10 | Caterpillar/Douglas Oberhelman |
| 14 | General Mills/Ken Powell | -9 | Verizon Communications/Lowell McAdam |
| 15 | Hormel Foods/Jeffrey Ettinger | TJX Companies/Carol Meyrowitz | |
| 16 | Esterline/Curtis Reusser | -40 | Sprint/Daniel Hesse |
| 17 | Arthur J. Gallagher/J. Patrick Gallagher | Maxim Integrated/Tunc Doluca | |
| 18 | Sprint/Marcelo Claure | -16 | Southwest Airlines/Gary Kelly |
| 19 | Maxim Integrated/Tunc Doluca | -17 | Dentsply International/Bret Wise |
| 20 | Accenture/Pierre Nanterme | -4 | ADP/Carlos Rodriguez |
| 21 | Caterpillar/Doug Oberhelman | -13 | HNI/Stan Askren |
| 22 | Nielsen/Mitch Barns | McKesson/John Hammerman | |
| 23 | Hitachi Data Systems/Jack Domme | 3M/Inge Thulin | |
| 24 | Ball Corporation/John Hayes | Konecranes/Pekka Lundmark | |
| 25 | Cardinal Health/George Barrett | -27 | Ecolab/Douglas Baker |
| 26 | Coca-Cola Enterprises/John Brock | EMC Insurance/Bruce Kelley | |
| 27 | Huntington Bancshares/Stephen Steinour | -37 | Cardinal Health/George Barrett |
| 28 | Dentsply International/Bret Wise | -19 | Green Mountain Coffee Roasters/Brian Kelley |
| 29 | Royal Caribbean Cruises/Adam Goldstein | RPM International/Frank Sullivan | |
| 30 | Salesforce/Marco Benioff | Emerson Electric/David Farr | |
| 31 | Bristow Group/Jonathan Baliff | Comcast/Brian Roberts | |
| 32 | HCL Technologies, Ltd./Anant Gupta | Shoppers Drug Mart/Dominic Pilla | |
| 33 | Tata Group/Cyrus Mistry | Barnes Group/Patrick Dempsey | |
| 34 | Shoppers Drug Mart/Dominic Pilla | -32 | Cash America International/Daniel Feehan |
| 35 | Hyatt Hotels/Mark Hoplamazian | Dangote Cement/Aliko Dangote | |
| 36 | Ecolab/Douglas Baker | -25 | The Cooper Companies/Robert Weiss |
| 37 | Paychex/Martin Mucci | -39 | Huntington Bancshares/Stephen Steinour |
| 38 | Hewlett-Packard/Meg Whitman | Citigroup/Michael Corbat | |
| 39 | Harman International/Dinesh Paliwal | Paychex/Martin Mucci | |
| 40 | Monsanto/Hugh Grant | -8 | Esterline/Curtis Reusser |
Sources: Sources: 1Chief Executive Magazine, 2Bureau of Economic Analysis, 3Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4NewGeography.com, 5,6The Tax Foundation
2014 Best & Worst States for Business
Auto Manufacturing Redraws Its Map
5 Great States for Biotech Companies
States Leading The Crowdfunding Surge
How CEOs Grade the States
10 Best States for Business in 2014
7 Best States for Startups 2014
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.
0
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.