Leading The Biggest Company In Latin America

The biggest company in Mexico and Latin America is PEMEX (Petroleos Mexicanos).  It is actually a monopoly which began in 1938 when the Mexican government banned all foreign drillers and formed a national oil company.  Only a handful of oil companies can do what PEMEX does.  It is performs in all the productive chain in the industry. It does the exploration, distribution and commercialization of all the products.  In 2010 average production of crude petroleum was around 2.576 million barrels a day.

Heading this huge company is Dr. Juan Jose Suarez Coppel who is the CEO and Director General. He has held this position since September 2009.  With its huge size and available area for exploration and drilling you may think he has an easy job.  In fact his job is actually difficult as PEMEX cannot be run like an ordinary private oil firm since it is government owned.  

For one PEMEX sends most of its profits to the government. It currently accounts for one third of the government’s income which is a huge amount. This is something that the government cannot forego. There are also many government interests who want their own say in running the company.  Wages are also pegged to government scale which is lower than the oil industry’s. This means it can’t hire the best or retain the best workers.

Thus the company has large potentials which it can’t fully exploit.  Suarez is very much aware of this but understands the changes won’t happen overnight and it will take a lot hard work.   Prior to heading PEMEX he held a number of high positions in other companies such as CFO and Vice President of Administration and Finance at Grupo Modelo, S.A.B. de V.C.

Making Up For Lost Time

Michael Diekmann was born on December 23, 1953 in Bielefeld, German.  He earned his degree from Goettingen University studying law and philosophy.

Right out of university he established his own publishing business, Diekmann/Thieme in 1983. This company fit into the lifestyle he liked.  It produced travel guides and adventure books.  This meant that he was also out in the field travelling and doing outdoor adventures and writing about it.

By his own account he was making a living having published a number of books.  In 1988 he was frustrated with having to compete with the big publishing houses. It was also around that time that his wife told him to get a real job and handed him an ad for a job at Allianz in Hamburg.  He went for the interview and got the job in the insurance sales department at Allianz.

You could say he was a late starter in the corporate field since this was his first serious job and he was already 33 years old. Michael certainly made up for lost time.  Fifteen years into the job he wound up being the group chairman in 2003.  This was no easy achievement he was now leading the world’s biggest general insurer, the second-largest asset management company, and the third-biggest life insurer.

Many were surprised he got the top job.  He record though showed that he was the right man for the top post.  In several new positions he held he was faced with daunting work challenges which he overcame and made his business unit prosper.   When he headed Alliance’s Asia-Pacific Operations he supervised key acquisitions as well as led the operations through the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. He turned a failing division into a profitable one.

Michael was sent to America in 2000 and he had to manage around the “de-pegging” of Argentina and the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. He was able to save the underperforming US Fireman’s Fund. He did this by aggressively cutting cost involving laying off thousands of employees.

When he took over Allainz in 2003 it was in deep trouble due to its $22.5 billion acquisition of Dresdner Bank in 2001.  Again he resorted to cost cutting ad workforce shrinkage and raised capital. Within 12 months of being the new CEO he returned Allainz to financial health.

Mr. Fix It

Paolo Scaroni has been the CEO of Italian energy giant Eni since June 2005. Prior to that he worked for a number of companies and has a solid reputation of fixing ailing companies and making them competitive.

Scaroni was born on November 28, 1946 in Vicenza, Italy.   In 1969 he obtained a degree in economics from Bocconi University in Milan.  Scaroni then worked for Chevron for three years then headed off to New York and studied at Columbia Business School earning and MBA degree. After graduating he worked at McKinsey & Company then at French company Saint Gobain where he held a number of positions eventually becoming president of the flat-glass division in 1984.

Scaroni then worked for Technit ad was deputy chairman and CEO from 1985 to 1996. His next career move was going to the UK and joining Pilkington the company that invented the float-glass process used in the automotive industry. The company was close to shutting down due to complacency over the years. As CEO he cut costs and improved production bringing the company back to life.

In 2002, no less than the Italian government hand-picked Scaroni to become the CEO of Enel. This energy company was 68 percent owned by the Italian government and was losing more than $1 billion annually due to its decision to move from energy to telecommunications.  He once again streamlined operations and improved efficiency so that the company would be ready for full privatization.

Having done his task he moved on to become the CEO of Eni in June 2005. Eni operates in 85 countries and has 79,000 employees. 

 

The Rise Of The Grandson

Akio Toyoda is the grandson of Toyota Motor’s founder. He was born on May 3, 1956 in Nagoya, Japan. Unlike older generations of Japanese executives he has more exposure to Western culture. He obtained his MBA degree at Babson College in the U.S. Akio also worked for some time at a U.S. firm.

Like his grandfather and father he too would head Toyota Motor one of the largest automobile companies in the world.  Akio joined the company in 1984. He then joined the company’s board of directors in 2000 and by 2005 was appointed executive vice president.  In June 2009 Akio became the new president of Toyota Motor; there were also four new executive vice presidents and eight new board members.

The tenure of Akio has not been easy.  In fact it has truly tested his leadership skill and his fortitude. There was the 2009 acceleration pedal recall. There was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011 followed months later by the floods in Thailand which all contributed to supply disruption.

He is now leading be being in front literally. He is the company pitchman and appears on advertisement and getting media mileage where he can to improve the company image. This has not only been for the sake of getting more customers to buy cars but for the morale of company employees as well.

Some have criticized Toyota’s bland and unexciting designs. Korean car companies have also become more popular in America.  Akio has been more personal in his approach to turn things.  In fact he is even more involved in the development of cars like the FR-S sports car which he drove every month during its development period and gave his feedbacks about it.

He is present in auto shows and racing events even participating in them briefly. His personal approach has been a big gamble, if the company doesn’t deliver on certain promises he would more likely take the hit.  It seems to pay paying off though as Toyota recently overtook Volkswagen to once again become the largest automaker in terms of revenue.

An Engineer At The Helm

Managing a large company requires a great amount of skill and talent. Surprisingly a good number of companies are not run by people who are direct experts in the field.  Take the case of a major airline company whose head is not a pilot but a lawyer.  It doesn’t mean that the company would be better run if a pilot was in charge. It just goes to show that managing a company is different from flying an airplane.

Daimler AG, the Germany multinational automotive company is actually led be someone who has been schooled and trained as an engineer; no lawyer is heading this company.  Dr. Dieter Zetsche is the chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG as well as head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

He graduated as an engineer having studied electrical engineering from 1971 to 1976 at the University of Karlshruhe. Zetsche then joined the research department of Daimler-Benz AG in 1976. He did well and became assistant to the Development Manager in the Commercial Vehicles business until 1981.

Zetsche furthered his academic studies and finished a doctorate in engineering at the University of Paderborn in 1982.  Over the years he received promotions and did overseas assignments.  He was at one time the CEO and president of Chrysler Group.  Dr. Zetsche has been a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG since December 16, 1998 and chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG since January 2006.

It is of advantage to Daimler that its current head truly understands the dynamics of the company and how a car is put together.

Energy Industry Focused

Some business executives wind up at the top of the heap by joining a company after having had a stellar career in another company which may not even be in the same industry.  For others they reach the top by being in the same industry for quite some time. They have the advantage of having a deep understanding of the industry.

The latter is the case with Ryan M. Lance who is chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips since May 2012. In fact his college degree would tell you his dead set intention of being part of the energy industry. Lance graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Montana Tech in Butte. The same year he graduated, he joined ARCO.

Lance spent 17 years of his career at ARCO. He held a number of management, engineering and operations positions in Alaska, the U.S. Lower 48, and globally. Lance reached the position of vice president of Western North Slope operations in Alaska.  As fate would have it this was bought by Philips in 2001.

Changes in ownership could adversely affect employees in the acquired company. For Lance it opened more doors. Lance became the general manager of the Lower 48 and Canadian operations for Philips in 2001. This position took him back to Houston.  He became vice president of Lower 48 in 2002. More promotions came in the way. Lance was responsible for Asia Pacific exploration and production in 2003 and was appointed as president of downstream strategy, integration and specialty function in 2005.

After more promotions and increasing responsibilities Lance was promoted to senior vice president, Exploration & Production-International in May 2009. Having climbed the corporate latter and a good grasp of the company he was appointed chairman and CEO in May 2012.

ConocoPhillips is the product of two companies Conoco and Phillips Petroleum. The two companies merged in Augusto 30, 2002. This is now the third-largest energy company in the U.S. Leading this giant is Lance with more than 28 years of oil and natural gas industry experience.

High Flying Lawyer

Richard H. Anderson is literally a high flying lawyer being the chief executive officer and member of the board of Directors of Delta Airlines. With all the legal and safety concerns relating to running an airline nowadays it seems t make sense to have a lawyer head an airline company than a former pilot.

Anderson was born in Galveston, Texas in 1957 and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law. He was in law practice then entered the airline industry in 1987 serving as deputy general counsel for Continental Airlines.  Then Anderson has a 14 year stint at Northwest Airline where he rose to become the CEO from 2001 to 2004. He then worked at UnitedHealth’s Commercial Markets Group holding the positions of executive vice president and president.

In September 2007 he became the new CEO of Delta. Anderson has initiated many changes at Delta to keep the company relevant given the competition and the every rising cost of aviation fuel.  The company also has partnership tie-ups such as its trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia and other arrangements with other airline companies.

Anderson’s stature goes beyond Delta; he is currently the chairman of the Airlines for America Board of Directors and has been elected to become the chairman of the International Airline Transport Association Board of Governors effective June 2013.

He’s a lawyer who is flying high.

Leading A Mining Giant

Tom Albanese is the chief executive officer and board member of Rio Tinto one of the largest mining firms in the world. Albanese was born in New Jersey on September 9, 1957.  He equipped himself well academically for the job earning a bachelor’s degree in mineral economics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Later Albanese got a master’s degree in mining engineering from the same university.

As it often happens the path to the top is not programmed. Early on Albanese did not imagine himself heading Rio because he worked for another company called Nerco.  In 1993, Nerco was acquired by Rio and Albanese was on his way to getting the top job.

He held various management positions and was appointed chief executive of the Industrial Minerals group in 2000. Albanese was then named chief executive of the Copper group and head of Exploration in 2004. 

Outside of Rio he has been a director of Ivanhoe Mines Limited from 2006 to 2007, director of Palabora Mining Company from 2004 to 2006. On the academe Albanese since 2009 has been member of board of visitors, Duke University, Fuqua School of Business.

The company that Albanese heads has a unique structure. There is Rio Tinto plc, a London listed public company based in the U.K. and Rio Tinto Limited, which trades on the Australian Stock Exchange and has headquarters in Melbourne. These two companies are called the Rio Tinto Group, joined in a dual listed companies (DLC) structure as a single economic entity. Rio has five principal product groups – Aluminum, Copper, Diamonds & Minerals, Energy and Iron Ore; with two support groups: Technology and Exploration.

Due to its size a whole country’s economic situation can have a huge impact on the company.  Take for example the case of China. Rio and Albanese watch closely the economic growth of this country as it has a significant impact on its bottom line. Last year with the cut in the forecast for Chinese growth Rio had to also cut its on sales and profitability forecast.  Albanese had to also make the tough calls to cut costs including jobs.  He also refused to receive a bonus when the company did not do well.

Davide Grasso: Developing of Innovative Nike Campaigns Such as “Write the Future”

With more than two decades of corporate leadership experience, Davide Grasso works from Nike, Inc.’s Portland, Oregon, headquarters as Vice President Global Brand Marketing. He has engaged with the footwear and apparel firm in a number of key marketing capacities, and has guided the firm’s style and branding direction for more than a decade.

Prior to taking his current position in 2010, Mr. Grasso served as the company’s Vice President of Global Football Marketing and spearheaded development of the innovative, “Write the Future” marketing campaign. Nearly three minutes in length, the film captures the kinetic energy of professional soccer and features the achievements and failures of stars such as Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Fabio Cannavaro, Thiago Silva, and Landon Donovan. It also shows the real time effect that these exploits have on fans around the world. In addition to top-flight soccer stars, the extended commercial featured cameos by NBA legend Kobe Bryant, tennis great Roger Federer, and Homer Simpson. In its debut week, the film set a record for the highest number of viral video advertisement views ever, and it ultimately earned the Cannes Grand Prix award.

Earning his Bachelor’s degree in Business & Economics at the University of Turin, Davide Grasso began his career as Account Executive with the consumer goods investment enterprise Armando Testa, SpA, He subsequently received his MBA from Bocconi University in Milan and joined Nike Europe as Product Line Manager. As Director of Marketing with Nike Italy for three years, Mr. Grasso achieved business growth of 200 percent and led the brand’s emergence as a national market leader. In particular, Nike’s footwear market share in Italy doubled from 18 percent to 36 percent. Davide Grasso has since fulfilled diverse corporate roles with Nike, including Apparel Marketing Director Europe, and Asia Pacific Region Vice President of Brand & Category Management.

Big Litter Sister

Maggie Wilderotter is the younger sister of Denise Morrison who is the CEO of Campbell Soup. She may be the little sister of Denise but she is a big little sister; she herself is a CEO. Maggie is the CEO of Stamford, Connecticut-based Frontier Communications Corporation. She came in as President and CEO in 2004 when the company was still known as Citizens Communications. In 2006 Maggie became the Chairman and CEO.

The company was renamed Frontier Communications in 2008. Maggie navigated the company as it grew to become the largest communications provider concentrating on rural America.  She has made it a priority to hire military veterans and reservists. The company has more than 15,200 employees who are all based in America serving customers in 27 states.

Before heading Frontier, Maggie worked at Microsoft as Senior Vice President of Business Strategy from 2002 to 2004 and was tasked with developing the company’s global business strategy.  Prior to that Maggie was the CEO of Wink Communications, an interactive television company. Microsoft invested in this company in 1998 and it was then bought by Liberty Media in 2002.

Born Mary Agnes Sullivan, she came from a family comprising 4 sisters who were taught the value of education and hard work by their parents. She earned her B.A in economics and business administration from Holy Cross College in Massachusetts and married her childhood sweetheart, Jay Wilderotter. Then her journey began that would lead her to head a company of her own.