Early Business Leadership Training

Denise Morrison had very early business leadership training. How early? Her father who was an AT&T executive told her about the importance of profit margins when she was still in grade school.  To get a bicycle she and her three other sisters (no boys in this brood) had to do a business plan.  This upbringing resulted in all four sisters becoming business executives.

For Denise it helped her become the President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company on August 1, 2011. It was not a straight forward path as she worked for a number of companies before joining Campbell in a senior executive position. Highly competitive even as a young child Denise had always wanted to become the CEO of a company.

She certainly started off in the right foot graduating magna cum laude from Boston College with a B.S. degree in economics and psychology. Denise was likewise inducted in the Order of the Cross and Crown Honor Society for academic and extracurricular achievement.

She then started her career in sales at Proctor & Gamble in Boston, Massachusetts. Looking for new opportunities Denise moved to Pepsi-Cola then Nestle, USA in the 1980s. Always on recruiters’ lists she joined Nabisco, Inc. in 1995 as Senior Vice President. Then Denise joined Kraft Foods as Executive Vice President and General Manager for Snacks and Confections divisions.

She joined Campbell in April 2003 as President for Global Sales and Chief Customer Officer. Denise was promoted to various positions before becoming the President and CEO. Having worked for so many companies and maintaining an upward career trajectory showed her true worth. Denise also never lost focus on wanting to become a CEO.

Winning Multimillion Dollar Verdicts and Still Showing His Sentimental Side

A champion of the underdog and other plaintiffs in need of representation, Theodore H. Friedman has adeptly handled civil and commercial cases for nearly four decades. Since opening his private practice in Manhattan, he has tried hundreds of cases, rising at 4 a.m. to prepare for court. Theodore H. Friedman has argued successfully before the United States Supreme Court and served as trial and appellate counsel in numerous significant cases, including DeLima v. Trinidad Corp., related to ship owners’ negligence; and Nallan v. Helmsley-Spear, Inc., which established landlord liability in specific circumstances. In Penson v. Rosenberg, he used his expertise to win a jury award of more than $50 million in an auto-liability case.

For the Practising Law Institute, Theodore H. Friedman has taught classes in trial preparation and conduct in New York and nationwide. He also acted as an invited lecturer at Columbia Law School on similar topics. In other teaching roles, the well-known trial attorney educated students in Israel in various subjects related to U.S. law at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law and served as a Visiting Fellow and Scholar at the University of Oxford’s Wolfson College in Great Britain.

For his accomplishments, Theodore has gained recognition over the years in a number of publications. Outliers: The Story of Success, a book written by Malcolm Gladwell, included two segments on the New York attorney. Calvin Trillin wrote about him in The New Yorker magazine in an article on jury selection, and former New York Supreme Court Judge Donald Sullivan complimented him in the New York Law Journal. A sentimental man as well as an entrepreneur and talented attorney, Theodore H. Friedman joined his sister in commissioning an original clarinet concerto by Einojuhani Rautavaara in honor of Mary Kerewsky Friedman, their late mother. Musicians have performed the piece in Carnegie Hall, at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and around the world.

Richard D. Fairbank: Leveraging Information And Technology

There are some people who get a clear picture of what is to come and take advantage of it. This means though that you must also have fortitude as people may not fully understand what you want to happen.

Richard D. Fairbank is the founder, chairman and CEO of Capital One. This is a diversified financial services company on the Fortune 500 list. While starting out in the credit card business the company is now one of the top 10 banks in the U.S. This bank provides a host of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. It has approximately 1,000 branch locations in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Louisiana and Texas.

Before it grew to be so large what became the bank was simply an idea by Fairbank and co-founder Nigel Morris. Their idea was a major innovation in the credit card industry. The two were main believers of information and how it could be used.

They would offer teaser interest rates and zero balance transfers.  They would also drop the annual fee and instead offer different credit cards to targeted segments of the population.  This was a form of targeted marketing which is now commonly used today. The information needed about customers was already available in the financial industry. The emergence of computers and software made the concept possible since it would mean analyzing an enormous amount of data involving a large number of people.

The two approached a number of financial institutions before over one and a half years later Signet Bank operating in central Virginia tried their system. While met with skepticism and resistance by some senior officials the idea took off. Fairbank headed the bank’s credit card division in 1993 after the departure of its former head.

Signet spun off the credit-card business into a subsidiary in 1994 and this became Capital One Financial Corporation. A year later this subsidiary had higher sales and growth than the parent company. Signet was bought by another bank but Capital One remained independent.

Today Fairbank is head of Capital One which is now a publicly traded company. He placed information technology in a leading role for the company instead of the tradition supporting role. The result has been a runaway success.

Airline Industry Executive David Pflieger: Selected Career Highlights

A seasoned corporate executive and professional pilot with a comprehensive background in law, David Pflieger brings a wealth of experience to his current work at the helm of Fiji’s national carrier, Air Pacific Ltd. Mr. Pflieger laid the foundation for a career in the airline industry following the completion of his studies at the United States Naval Academy. Ranked first in his class, he accepted a cross-commission offer from the U.S. Air Force to serve as a Squadron Executive Officer and B-52 Instructor Pilot, a move that placed him in charge of high stakes nuclear alert, conventional weapons, and cruise missile missions. Garnering numerous accolades for his performance including an Air Force Commendation Medal, David Pflieger subsequently assumed a role as Air Force Reserve Officer supervising eight C-130 cargo aircraft, a post that required a great deal of tactical skill and psychological focus.

While still serving in the Air Force, Pflieger returned to academia to pursue dual law and business degrees at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. After obtaining a Master of Business Administration and a Juris Doctorate in 1997, Mr. Pflieger joined one of Atlanta’s top legal firms where he primarily focused on litigation, intellectual property, and white-collar crime. From 1998 to 2001, he functioned as Chief Operations Attorney for Delta Air Lines, supervising the carrier’s in-house defense cases and all relevant compliance matters. Earning a promotion to Director of Flight Safety, David Pflieger restructured an entire department and implemented a closed loop risk assessment program, enabling Delta to achieve a record year of safe operation. Prior to leaving Delta, he was installed as Vice President of Operations for Song, the organization’s budget carrier.

Leading up to his tenure at Air Pacific, David Pflieger oversaw the launch of U.S.-based operations for Virgin America. As the company’s Senior Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs, Mr. Pflieger instituted a multiplicity of initiatives that resulted in a “Best Domestic Airline” designation from Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

At The Head Of Ronald’s Crew

The story of Jan Fields, the president of McDonald’s USA, LCC is very inspiring. She started out as a crew member in 1978. Today Jan is in charge of the strategic direction and overall business performance of all the McDonald’s restaurant in the U.S. which totals 14,000.

From cooking fries to sitting on the chair where the company’s founder once sat has been a long steady climb and did not happen overnight. Being a woman Jan had to juggle her priorities but still moved forward with her career. She considers herself a mother, grandmother and a wife which aside for her great job all required some form of sacrifices along the way.

She spoke of that fact the one can have everything but not at the same time. She passed on a number of opportunities to advance her career so that her daughter could finish her high school in one place. Yet everything has worked out in the end.

Starting with fries she knows the company very well having worked at all levels from restaurants to management.  Among the key positions she has held on her way to the top include as president and senior vice president of McDonald’s Central Division and regional vice president of the Pittsburgh region.

On the civic side she serves on the board of United Cerebral Palsy, the Chicago Urban League, and other organizations.

James T. Hackett: Leading One Of The Largest Independent Gas And Oil Companies

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation was in need of direction. While many companies hire internally quite a good number also hire externally. Hiring an outsider has its cons like the new guy may end up not working well with insiders. It has its pros like you can get the best talent around if you have a larger pool to choose from.

Anadarko seems to have made the best decision in hiring an outsider since he has given the company new direction and has provided consistent profits year after year.  James T. Hackett was their choice. He may have been a company outsider at the time but he was and is a deep insider of the oil and gas industry having spent most of his career in that sector.

James was appointed CEO of Anadarko in 2003 as well as company president. He has made the company leaner and stronger. Three years after joining Anadarko he made an audacious move by acquiring two other energy companies involving a total of $21 billion. This move helped solidify Anadarko’s status as on one of the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and product companies in the entire world.

For his achievements he became chairman of the board in 2006 and since May 2012 has been the executive chairman of Anadarko. Before joining the company James had been involved in the energy industry for a long time with a very impressive resume. He had been the head of a number of companies who were products of mergers.

Prior to joining Anadarko James was the president and COO of Devon Energy Corporation after it had merged with Ocean Energy where he was the chairman, president and CEO.  Ocean Energy was actually the product of a merger with Seagull Energy Corporation where he was also the chairman, CEO and president.

While mergers often cause the dislocation of senior executives for James it has always resulted in landing the top position; a testament to his business talent and managerial skills. He has lent his expertise in other fields such as being a former chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and is vice chairman of the Baylor College of Medicine among other prestigious positions.

James earned a BS form the University of Illinois and an MBA from Harvard University.

 

The Next Leader Of General Dynamics

In June 7, 2012 General Dynamics announced that it current CEO Jay Johnson would be retiring on December 2012 and will be succeeded by Phebe Novakovic.  Only just May 2012 she was appointed as president and COO. In less than a year in her current position she will be the head of the entire company which is one of the major defense contractors of the U.S.

General Dynamics makes everything from Army tanks to nuclear submarines. It’s an accomplishment for anyone to be able to head it. Being the first woman to head a major defense contractor is an added feather in Novakovic’s cap.

She is no stranger to matters related to the country’s defense. She was formerly a CIA official and spent around four years as a special assistant to the defense secretary. Novakovic was deputy secretary of defense from 1997 to 2001.

Then she joined General Dynamics in 2001. Novakovic has served in a number of senior positions at General Dynamics including vice president of strategic planning from October 2002 to July 2005. She then was made vice president for planning and development from July 2005 to May 2010. Novakovic was EVP for marine systems since May 2010 before becoming president and COO.

Novakovic is part of the now growing trend of women heading large corporations.

Michael Duke: Running The World’s Largest Retail Store

Michael Duke is the president and CEO of Wal-mart, the world’s largest retail store chain. It is so huge that its performance is a bell weather for the U.S. economy. To be able to head such a large organization means Duke comes with exceptional skills. He certainly does and proven in his work performance.

Unlike other CEOs Duke did not graduate from an ivy league school or hold an MBA degree. He does have an industrial engineering degree from Georgia Tech which he has applied quite successfully in his professional career.

According to Duke his career path was guided by the advice he got from a high school physics teacher who told him to go to Georgia Tech and get an industrial engineering degree. His teacher also advised him not to get into the manufacturing industry but the service industry since that’s where the future lay.  Considering it was 1967 at that time it was quite a forward looking advice.

He did follow the advice and after getting his college degree worked for Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta.  In his early years he learned to manage stores and after 10 year moved on to logistics. Rich’s later became Federated and May Department Stores. He worked for that company for 23 years.

He was hired by Wal-Mart in 1995 to handle the company’s logistics. Being such an enormous company logistics is an integral component of what defines Wal-Mart as an efficient and successful company. Duke went about and made further improvements to the logistics component.

In 2005 he was appointed vice chairman and led Wal-Mart International.  With Duke’s guidance the international business became a fast growing segment of Wal-Mart with 3,500 stores and 680,000 associates in 15 markets outside of the contiguous U.S.  This segment of Wal-Mart is a behemoth in its own right having annual sales of almost $100 billion in 2008 when Duke was heading it.

In February 2009 he finally got the top post of president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  Perhaps Duke’s high school physics teacher never imagined how far and high his accomplishment would be.

It’s All About Bargains For Carol Meyrowitz

Most women are in the lookout for great bargains. There are actually branded clothes that can be bought at deep discounts when they are no longer in season or stocks levels need to be lowered. Like any woman Carol Meyrowitz is also after bargains, but it’s not just when she does shopping. It’s also when making deals with manufacturers. She after all is the CEO of TJX the top off-price retailing store in the U.S.

Carol began her career with TJX in 1983 starting out as a buyer.  Then in 1987 she started holding senior management positions with Marmaxx, Chadwick’s of Boston, and Hit or Miss until 2001. These were former divisions of TJX. Carol climbed further up the TJX hierarchy. She became executive vice president from 2001 to 2004 and then senior executive vice president from 2004 to 2005.  Carol was also president of The Marmaxx Group from 2001 to 2005.

Then her rapid rise came to an abrupt halt. From January 2005 to October 2005, her employment status changed to that of an advisor for TJX and she also did consultancy work for private equity firm, Berkshire Partners LLC.  This was actually part of her plan to look for a career outside of TJX.

TJX must have very much valued her talent; by October 17, 2005 she was appointed as president and became a member of the board of directors the following year.  On January 2007 Carol was promoted as the new CEO to TJX.

She heads a powerhouse retail chain that has over 1,700 stores. While TJX is associated with deep discounted prices, Carol has talent that the TJX board simply couldn’t discount.

Randall Stephenson: Leading AT&T

College degrees count but it’s not the only indicator for success.  People who are successful put in a lot of hard work and have a track record of achievements as they rise through the corporate ranks. A company like AT&T is more on the technology side of things. Yet it is led be someone who was into accounting and learned what he needed to know along the way.

Randall Stephenson graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.  Later on he would also earn a Masters in Accountancy from the University of Oklahoma.  Stephenson started his corporate career with Southern Bell Telephone (SBC) in 1982.

From there he climbed the corporate ladder getting a number of leadership promotions in finance. Stephenson also got international exposure having been assigned in Mexico City as the director of finance for SBC International.  He was in charge of looking over the company’s ownership interest in Teléfonos de México. 

Stephenson then became the controller for SBC, then senior vice president for Consumer Marketing.  He became senior executive vice president and chief financial officer for SBC from 2001 to 2004. It was during this time there that the company was able to reduce its net debt from $30 billion to nearly zero in the early part of 2004. This financial condition allowed the company to make key acquisitions of AT&T wireless, AT&T Corp. and BellSouth.

From 2004 to 2007 Stephenson was the COO even through the acquisitions of AT&T and BellSouth. For all his hard work and accomplishments he got appointed as chairman and CEO of the company in 2007. SBC is now known as AT&T.  Ironically AT&T was the parent company otherwise known as Ma Bell which used to dominate the telecommunications scene in the U.S.; it was broken up and SBC and BellSouth were amount the spun off entities.

While not possessing a technology background Stephenson understands the technology game very well.  He has strengthened the company’s position as the world’s largest telecommunications company.  He also transformed the company into an international leader in mobile Internet services and IP-based business and communications solutions.

This accountant has become very astute and accomplished in the field of technology.

Patricia Woertz: Conquering The World Of Men

We try at best to emphasize that a person is hired or promoted based on qualification; it’s hard not notice the achievements of Patricia Woertz in what is basically the world of men. 

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1953 Woertz was often taken on summer tours by her parents to look at the business side of America. They visited an oil refinery and at another time a window factory. She also saw the headquarters of Gulf Oil and Mellon Bank.

In 1974 she graduated from Pennsylvania State University with an accounting degree. Woertz was already something of odd thumb back then. She took the job offer coming from Ernst & Young and was one of only two women comprising the 200 recruits.

One of the accounting firm’s clients was Gulf Oil Corp. who eventually hired her in 1977. Woertz proved her worth.  Even when Gulf Oil merged with Chevron she was given the critical task of looking for ways to pay down debt while divesting assets to meet federal regulatory requirements.  By 1991 Woertz became head of strategic planning at Chevron.

She then became president of Chevron Canada and later Chevron International in 1995.  In 2001, Woertz became executive vice president in charge of downstream operations when Chevron merged with Texaco. She had a rough first year in charge of 19 refineries in 180 countries. Losses caused her to act decisively including the firing of senior executives.  By 2004 profit stood at $3.25 billion.

She retired from Chevron on February 2006 only to wind up as CEO and president of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) on April 2006; the chairmanship was added in 2007. ADM is one of the world’s largest farm-commodities processors.