James Gallogly: Lyondellbasell CEO

James Gallogly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1974. He went on and obtained a law degree in 1977 from the University of Oklahoma.  This looked like an individual who would go into law practice as a profession. Yet James took a different direction.

He joined the oil industry, Phillips in particular in 1980 and held a number of positions in exploration and production, legal and finance in the early portion of his career; this included international assignments as well. He rose through the ranks eventually becoming senior vice president of chemicals and plastic, vice president of olefins and polyolefins as well as vice president for North America production.

In 2000, James joined Chevron Phillips Chemicals as president and chief executive officer. In 2006, he became executive vice president of Refining, Marketing & Transportation for Conoco Phillips. James was then appointed executive vice president of Exploration & Production in 2008 for Conoco Phillips.

He then joined another company becoming the chief executive officer of LyondellBasell Industries in 2009. He became a member of the management board in 2010.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemical and refining companies in the world. It is involved in the entire petrochemical value chain, from refining to specialized petrochemical products and end uses. The firm manufactures products in 58 sites in 18 countries and has annual revenues of $45 billion.

James while a lawyer by training joined the oil industry and never looked back.

George L. Mikan: ESL Investment President

George L. Mikan earned a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in 1994 and is a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Only in his early 40s George has already held a number of high executive positions. There are only a handful of business executives who have held the kinds of positions and responsibilities that George has.

At the age of 41 he was the interim Chief Executive Officer of Best Buy from April 2012 to September 2012. George had been a board of director of Best Buy since April 2008 to December 2012. In January 2013 he 42 became the President of hedge fund ESL Investment Inc.

He has served in a number of executive positions over a 14-year period at UnitedHealth Group. George was the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President from November 8, 2006 to January 2011. He was the Senior Vice President from February 2006 to November 2006. George was also the Chief Financial Officer at UnitedHealth Group’s United Healthcare division and the President at UnitedHealth Networks, Inc. from June 2004 to February 2006.

He was the Chief Executive Officer at Health Services Platform at UnitedHealth Group Inc. since January 2011.  George was the Chief Financial Officer of Specialized Care Services division from 2001 to 2004.  He has also served as an Executive in the UnitedHealth corporate development group. George joined UnitedHealth Group in 1998 after a four year stint at Arthur Andersen.

ESL Investments, Inc. is an employee owned hedge fund sponsor. The company mainly offers its services to pooled investment vehicles. ESL launches and manages hedge funds for its clients. The company invests in public equity and fixed income markets. It invests in convertible securities, derivatives, swaps and options as well. ESL Investments was founded in 1988 by Edward Scott Lampert.

From healthcare to retail chain to hedge funds, George’s work experience has covered different industries. His capability to work at the highest level shows his value as an outstanding management talent.

Xavier Huillard: Keeping His Principles

Xavier Huillard was born in June 1954. He came from a family of builders and continued the tradition of previous generations. Xavier went to the top schools in France graduating from the École Polytechnique and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussée.

He started his career as a civil servant beginning at a local public works and planning department then later transferred to the Ministry for Infrastructure’s international business department.  Xavier eventually joined Sogea in December 1996 as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of international activities and specific projects. He was appointed Chairman and CEO in 1998.

Xavier then joined VINCI in March 1998 and was Chairman of VINCI Construction from 2000 to 2002. He was promoted Co-Chief Operating Officer of VINCI and Chairman and CEO of VINCI Energies from 2002 to 2004, the Chairman of VINCI Energies from 2004 to 2005.Xavier was promoted to a number of  positions until he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of VINCI in May 2010.

In what you usually don’t hear of in the corporate world Xavier openly criticized his predecessor and then VINCI Chairman Antoine Zacharias for personal luxurious excesses which led to the previous chairman’s resignation. It showed Xavier’s sticking to his principles even though he had worked closely with Zacharias for over a decade.

VINCI, a French company, is a global force in concessions and construction having close to 193,000 employees working in 100 countries.

Gilles Benoist: Outstanding French Executive

A good business executive can come out of any country. France has its share of outstanding executives. One of them is Gilles Benoist.

Gilles was born on December 12, 1946. He has a law degree and is a graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politques de Paris and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA).

After graduating from ENA he followed the path taken by many successful business executives; cut their teeth in the government sector then join the private sector. Gilles would take on key jobs during his stint with the government. From 1974 to 1981, he was the Director of the Cabinet for the Prefect of Oise, Secretary General of Ariége and Director of Cabinet of the General Director of Local Communities at the Ministry of the Interior. Gilles interest turned more in the direction of economics and finance after 1981.

He was appointed Head of Cabinet of the Ministry of Economics and Finance and the Referendum Advisor to the Court of Accounts in 1983. Gilles was Secretary General of Local Credit of France in 1987 and Advisor to the General Director Deputy of Cash Deposits before becoming its Director of Central Services.

From 1993 to July 1998, Gilles was General Secretary, a member of the Executive Committee and Director of Human Resources for the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. This company has a subsidiary CNP Assurance S.A. which was formed in 1959 and continues to own around 40 percent of CNP.

Gilles was Chairman of the Management Board of CNP Assurances from 1998 and CEO and Director from July 2007 to June 2012. Under his leadership CNP increased revenue by 80 percent. He began the international expansion of the insurance company in 1999 by entering Portugal.

CNP had premium income of €3.2 billion in 2010. It has 24 million policy holders. CNP does business in three main segments of the personal insurance market - life insurance, pensions and personal risks.

After doing an outstanding job at CNP Gilles is currently Corporate Director of Suez Environnement Company and is on the board of other companies as well.

 

Donald A. Guloien: Manulife Chief

Donald A. Guloien graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Donald joined Manulife Financial, one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world, in 1981 as a research analyst. His talent enabled him to quickly move through a number of strategic and marketing positions in both the Canadian and U.S. Divisions.

Donald became Vice President, US Individual Business in 1990. He was responsible for the operations of Manulife’s individual insurance and annuity business in the United States. From 1994 to 2001, he headed the company’s Business Development unit. Donald led a number of key acquisitions, divestures and strategic initiatives, including: the merger of Manulife with North American Life Assurance Company; sale o f Manulife’s U.K. business; Manulife’s conversion from a mutual life insurance company to a publicly traded stock company; and its entry into Japan.

Donald rose further through the ranks and became the Chief Investment Officer from 2001 to 2009. He became the CEO in 2009 under very tough economic and business conditions. Donald took the controversial actions of going to the market for $2.5 billion in common equity in November, 2009 and slashed the dividend in half in August, 2009.

A true leader, Donald took the painful but necessary actions to keep Manulife healthy and continue to experience solid returns.

Shoji Muneoka: Mr. Steel

Shoji Muneoka is not Superman; it’s just that he has been in the steel making business for his entire career. Shoji was born on May 3, 1946 and went to school at Tokyo University. He graduated in March 1970 and the following month joined Nippon Steel.  

Interestingly, Nippon Steel was formed by the merger of two huge companies, Yawata Iron & Steel and Fuji Iron & Steel in 1970. Shoji rose through the ranks. Among the capacities he has served in include Director of Secretary, Managing Director and Vice President. He became the President of Nippon Steel in April 2008.

Heading a huge Japanese steel company has been very challenging. While known for advance technology and innovation it has experienced what companies in the U.S. has experienced; its cost of production was becoming too expensive against other steel producing countries like South Korea and China. 

From 1970 to 2008 Nippon Steel has ranked one of the top three steel companies in the world. Things became difficult when demand fell and competition from other countries started to heat up. By 2009 South Korean POSCO and Chinese mills surpassed the Nippon Steel and pushed its rank down to number six in the world.

Nippon Steel began to diversify engaging in such projects as the processing of waste food into ethanol. Nippon Steel also started to establish itself into the business of semiconductors, software and electronics. It has even ventured into theme parks with one called Space World. The steel company also has subsidiaries like Nippon Steel Engineering, Nippon Steel Materials and Nippon Steel Chemicals.

A major event occurred in October 1, 2012 when Nippon Steel and rival Sumitomo Metal Industries formally merged to produce the second largest steelmaker in the world. When the dust settled Shoji Muneoka emerged as Chairman and CEO of the combined entity known as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp.

Shoji in an address stated that the combined company would take four major initiatives which are to globalize the steel business; utilize advance technologies; improve cost competitiveness: and reinforce non-steel business segments.

Having been in the steel business all his career, Shoji looks to be the right man to get these huge undertakings started and accomplished.

Dr. Rüdiger Grube: Transportation Expertise

Dr. Rüdiger Grube was born in Hamburg, Germany in August 2, 1951. His training and schooling has been very much focused in the world of transportation. Grube finished his commercial and technical training in metal aircraft construction and then earned a degree in automotive engineering and aircraft construction from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. He taught at the University of Hamburg and later gained his doctorate in the areas of industrial science and polytechnology at the Universities of Hamburg and Kasselin 1986.  Grube then joined a company that would later become Daimler-Benz Aerospace.

Grube went on to become the Chairman and CEO of Duetsche Bahn AG and DB Mobility Logistics AG in May 2009. He was elected to these positions after having served in a number of executive, supervisory and administrative board positions with Daimler, EADS, MTU Friedrichshafen, Hyundai Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

Deutsche Bahn Group provides global mobility and logistical services operating in more than 130 countries all over the world. It has around 300,000 employees with over half in Germany. The firm is involved in rail, road, ocean and air traffic networks.  DB Group registered revenues of around €39.3 billion in 2012.

Given his expertise in transportation and by extension logistics, Grube has been able to lead GB Group with a steady and experienced hand.

Martin Senn: Zurich Insurance Group CEO

Martin Senn was born in 1957 and is a Swiss citizen. He earned a Commercial and Banking diploma from the Business School in Basel, Switzerland. Martin completed an International Executive Program at INSEAD in Fontainebleau and also finished an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

 A good portion of his career had been spent in the banking industry. Martin worked for the former Swiss Bank Corporation from 1976 to 1994. Among the key positions he had held in the company included treasurer in Hong Kong and regional treasurer for Asia and the Pacific region in Singapore. Martin later headed the firm’s Tokyo office.

He then joined another banking organization, Credit Suisse in 1994. His executive roles in the company included being treasurer for the Head Office and Europe and chairman of Credit Suisse Group, Japan. A major promotion came in 2001 when Martin became a member of the Credit Suisse Banking executive board and was made head of its Trading and Investment Services Division.

From banking, Martin joined the insurance industry when he joined Swiss Life Group. From 2003 to 2006 he served as a member of the corporate executive board and as chief investment officer. This change in industry led to greener pastures when Martin joined Zurich Insurance Group as Chief Investment Officer and also serving on the Group Executive Committee. His good performance eventually landed him the top job. Martin became the CEO of Zurich Insurance Group in January 1, 2010.

Popularly known as Zurich, this insurance company is the largest insurer in Switzerland and is one of the largest companies in the world. Its scope of operation is global doing business in 170 countries and territories and employing around 60,000 people. The firm is composed of three business divisions namely, General Insurance, Global Life and Farmers.  Revenue for 2012 hit $70.414 billion.

With hands on executive experience in both the banking and insurance industries, it’s no surprise that the board of Zurich chose Martin to head this insurance giant which is over 140 years old.