Aldemir Bendine: As Big As They Come

The name Aldemir Bendine does not ring a bell to many people. It can’t be argue though that he has had a very successful banking career. Bendine is the CEO, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Member of the Executive Board of Banco do Brasil. He has been a member of the Executive Board since December 2006 and CEO since April 2009.

He is running a bank as big as they come. Banco do Brasil happens to be the largest Brasilian and Latin American bank by assets and the third largest by market value. It is also one of the oldest financial institutions around having been founded in 1808.

Offering banking, insurance, retail banking and private equity, Banco do Brasil had revenues of $51 billion and profits of$5.9 billion in 2012. Its total asset stands at around $582.1 billion and has 118,900 employees.  While professionally run and traded in the São Paulo Stock Exchange the Brazilian government owns 73 percent of it.

Bendine earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Faculdade de Ciencias Contabeis de Itapetininga (FCCI). He obtained his MBA degree at Pontifica Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janerio.

Having risen through the ranks Bendine now leads a bank that is as big as they come.

Kazuo Hirai: Sony’s Mr. Fix It

Kazuo Hirai was born on December 22, 1960 in Tokyo, Japan. He belongs to a breed of Japanese who have spent a good deal of their life being exposed and living in different cultures. He attended the American School in Japan.  Hirai was also able to go to places like Canada, New York, California as well as around Japan tagging along with his father who was a wealthy banker.

Hirai notes that this kind of exposure helped him later in his career success which has spanned different continents. He graduated from the International Christian University in 1984 and then worked for CBS/Sony Inc., marketing international music within Japan.  Later Hirai became the head of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan’s international business affairs office in New York.

He played an important role in the success of PlayStation in the U.S. With the continued success of PlayStation Hirai eventually became Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment. A reorganization also took place within Sony with one group becoming “Consumer Products & Services Group”. Hirai was promoted to Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President of Sony Corporation and headed this reorganized group.

Rumors began to spread that Hirai would succeed Sony Corporation president and CEO Howard Stringer.  The rumors became true when he was appointed the new president and CEO of Sony on February 2012. He was elected to the Board during the annual stock holders meeting on June 2012.

After having losses for four straight years it was very clear that Hirai’s job was to fix Sony. One of the main moves he promised was to return the company to profitability by cutting 10,000 jobs and focusing on video games, cameras, and smartphones.

So far Hirai has managed to return Sony back to profitability.  This was achieved in part due to a weaker yen and the sale of investments and office buildings. There is still a long way to go and while Hirai had earlier mentioned that the entertainment business was not for sale, a portion of it now looks to be for sale in order to raise cash.

Hirai has a tough job ahead but who said a CEO’s job was ever easy?

Robert A. McDonald: Challenging Times

Robert A. McDonald is Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Procter & Gamble (P&G) one of the largest companies in the world. McDonald was born in Gary Indiana, and grew up in Chicago. He graduated from West Point in 1975 with a BS degree in Engineering.

McDonald joined the U.S. Army and became a captain. He was in the Infantry, Airborne Ranger, 82^nd Airborne Division. While in military service he also devoted time for further academic studies earning an MBA from the University of Utah in 1978 and graduating with honors.

McDonald went out of the military and joined P&G in 1980. A talented and driven person he took up various assignments in different areas of specialties and was posted in different countries. He rose through the ranks and became the CEO of one of the largest consumer products company in 2009.

McDonald had the luck and a bit of a curse in succeeding a legendary CEO in the name of A.G. Lafley who was able to pullout P&G from its last major turndown.  The standards were high when he took over. Some of Lafley’s innovative moves also needed overhauls. To add to this was the world economic slowdown that took place after the U.S. fiscal crisis.

Company performance has not been as expected although things have started to improve. There have been questions about his leadership capabilities. Nevertheless McDonald still has the trust of the board of directors and isn’t backing down from the challenges that lay before him.  Like a good leader his has been listening and facing issues head on.

Philippe Varin: Tackling Extraordinary Difficulties

Philippe Varin is the Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën the French car giant. He has held this position since June 2009. It can’t be said that many people envy him. He took over the position from the previous chairman whose contract was terminated. As was mentioned by Thierry Peugeot, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, the automotive industry was experiencing extraordinary difficulties. To help them tackle the very serious problem they turned to Philippe.

Philippe did not come from the ranks of PSA. He came from Corus where he was the Chief Executive. He joined Corus as Chief Executive in April 2003. Philippe was quickly able to turn around the problematic and money-losing Anglo-Dutch steel firm.  He then successfully led the merger of Corus with Tata Steel in March 2007. Philippe was requested to stay on with the enterprise so that a successful integration could be completed.  The PSA Supervisory Board has been hoping Philippe can come up with the same kind of accomplishments at PSA.

Philippe graduated from the top notch French schools Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines. He then joined the company Pechiney in 1978. Philippe rose through the ranks and became a high level executive before eventually joining Corus.

PSA proves a big challenge for Philippe. He has instituted strategic changes such as having two distinct and differentiated brands.  He is also banking on the success of PSA’s alliance with General Motors.

Philippe has currently set up a much leaner management team. The Executive Committee now comprises four members of the Managing Board and nine Executive Vice Presidents reporting to the Chairman of the Managing Board.

There is still much work to do for Philippe and his team. Moody’s Investors Service recently cut PSA’s credit rating one step to four levels below investment grade. The downgrade was due to the contraction in Europe’s care market which puts at risk the car company’s plans to restore cash flow.

The board of directors still has a lot of faith in Philippe he has taken on an enormous challenge and they can only hope that he succeeds.

Ranbir Singh Butola: Hybrid CEO

Ranbir Sing Butola has been described by a close associate as a “hybrid CEO”. He is currently the chairman of Indian Oil. This is no ordinary company being the largest public firm in India in terms of revenue. In fact it is ranked as one of the largest 100 companies in the whole wide world by Fortune 500.  The company has a 34,233 workforce and sales turnover of $85.6 billion in 2012 with profits of $825 million.

Butola started his career in the financial sector working for a nationalized bank. He then entered the energy industry in 2001 joining ONGC (OVL). Under his leadership he has built an impressive exploration and production portfolio in more than 15 countries.

What is most challenging for Butola and why he’s described as a hybrid CEO is because the owner of Indian Oil and OVL is the Indian government.  He has been running business in a private environment yet also has to contend with the owner that has its own agenda which to say the least is political in nature. Butola has to deal with such issues as selling fuel below market price.

Nevertheless he has shown his ability to balance private market place realities with government priorities. No doubt he is one hybrid CEO.

César Alierta Izuel: Success In Different Industries

There is something unique about César Alierta Izuel. He has been a very successful executive in not just one but three different industries. While there have been arguments that it’s best to have leader who has gone up the ranks in one company or industry Alierta is one of the rare breeds who simply know how to manage and lead.

Alierta was born on May 5, 1945 in Zaragoza, Spain.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in Law at the Universidad de Zaragoza in 1967. Three years later Alierta obtained an MBA at Columbia University in New York.

He began his career in the finance industry joining Banco Urquijo based in Madrid in 1970. He stayed with the company for 15 years where he was general manager of the Capital Markets Division.  Alierta then ventured on his own establishing Beta Capital; a private banking and stock brokerage firm. The business was a success managing to earn a name for itself in the Spanish financial industry with Alierta as chairman. It was later bought out by other multinational financial firms.

The year 1996 saw a change in control of the Spanish government. Alierta was appointed chairman of tobacco firm Tabacalera which was 52 percent owned by the government. He was given the order of preparing the company for privatization.

Alierta made significant changes in the company. He closed Spanish factories and moved production operations to Central America. Alierta entered the U.S. cigar market.  He also increased the price of the cigarettes. Spanish smokers and labor unions were angered by his moves. Stock prices of the Tabacalera though doubled. The company was successfully privatized in 1998.

After privatization the firm merged with Seita, a French tobacco company a year later. Alierta became the co-chairman of the new company. He stayed on until he bowed out and entered another industry in a big way.

He became the CEO of Telefónica in 2000. He had been a director of the company since 1997. Under Alierta’s leadership the company grew expanding rapidly even in the international market. It increased its market in Latin America, did business in Eastern Europe and China. Telefónica also became part of the NY Dow Jones Global Titan 50 Index comprising the 50 biggest companies in the world; the first Spanish company to do so.

Alierta is truly one of a kind.

Yoshinobu Tsutsui: The Glass Is Half Full

Yoshinobu Tsutsui is the president and a director of Nippon Life Insurance Company. He previously served as senior managing executive officer and managing executive officer.  Nippon Life is one of the biggest institutional investors in the world with around $637 billion in assets.

Tsutsui became the president of Nippon Life the No. 1 life insurance company in Japan in April 2011. This was shortly after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. He played an integral role in getting together the insurance industry’s response as chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Japan.  He left the post July 2012.

While the issue of a shrinking population and aging society in Japan has been seen as a negative by many, Tsutsui sees opportunity in coming up with new products and services for senior citizens. He also believes this is something the company can share with the rest of the world.

The same is true with issues regarding instability and regulatory constraints in the Japanese stock market. While others may be pulling out, as a large institutional investor he feels they have a responsibility as a stable shareholder and to also help revitalize the market. Tsutsui also believes it’s an opportunity to talk with regulators with their views on the market.

Moving more slowly in the global arena, Nippon Life is a least assured that it has a leader who sees things from unique and positive perspective. The opportunities he sees can help propel Nippon Life to new heights in the global arena.

Timothy J. Mayopoulos: Not About The Money

A big pay cut did not discourage Timothy J. Mayopoulos from taking on the CEO role at Fannie Mae. Perhaps it was simply the challenge to has a positive impact in a far from ideal setting.

Mayopoulos is the president and CEO OF Fannie Mae which is the dominant source of residential mortgage credit in the U.S.  secondary market.  The amount of money Fannie Mae deals with is staggering. As reported by the company from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2012 it provided $3.3 trillion in mortgage credit. This allowed 2.7 million home purchases and 9.7 million mortgage refinancing.  It also went into conservatorship during the financial crisis.

To lead this private and government sponsored company means one must have a high level of experience and stature in the financial industry. Mayopoulos has that having been EVP and general counsel of Bank of America Corporation.  Before that he held senior management positions at Duetsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Mayopoulos graduated from Cornell University and the New York University School of Law.

Mayopoulos joined Fannie May in April 2009 as EVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary and became chief administrative officer in 2010. Ironically in taking the top post he actually took a pay cut as part of Fannie Mae’s action to lower executive pay after the taxpayer bailout of the company. His pay for 2012 amounts to $2.6 million and will only be $600,000 in 2013.

Obviously money is not the main driver in taking the top post. Leading a company whose very future is in doubt given the desire by the public and lawmakers to reform the U.S financial and housing system is a challenge. He simply wants to do what he can at this critical time for the company specifically and the U.S. financial system in general.

Improved fundamentals has seen the housing market perk up and it now looks like Fannie Mae may be able to repay all it owes to taxpayers. Mayopoulos continues to make reforms and improve the performance of Fannie Mae.  There is still the bigger issue of reforms which may affect the company’s future or existence. Mayopoulos has shown though that he can make the best out of a tough situation.

Li Yue: Leading The World’s Largest Mobile Network

Li Yue is the CEO and Executive Director of China Mobile Limited which is listed in the New York Stock Exchange and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.  He has been Executive Director since March 2003 and CEO since August 2010. While many may not be aware of it the company is the world’s largest mobile network and has the world’s largest mobile customer base.  It is the leading mobile service provider in Mainland China.

To put it into perspective, at the end of 2012 the company and its subsidiaries had a total customer base of 710 million. That’s more than twice the population of the U.S.  Compared to 2011 there was a net increase of 60.7 million customers. That figure is just couple of millions below the entire population of Great Britain.

Li handles the company’s operations and management which is clearly a huge task. He has risen through the ranks and thus has the necessary experience to run this gigantic company. Li is also the President and director of CMCC and CMC. He was previously Deputy Director General and Chief Engineer of Tianjin Long-Distance Telecommunications Bureau.

Li took up his education mostly in the Chinese region. He has a bachelor’s degree in telephone exchange from the Correspondence College of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, a master’s degree in business administration from Tianjin University and a doctoral degree in business administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Leading this enormous firm also means having a large compensation package; Li received a total of over $2 million in 2011. While Western executives are known to earn more, it’s a huge compensation nevertheless.