Yi Huiman: ICBC President

Yi Huiman graduated from Hangzhou College of Electronics and Hangzhou Financial Management Cadre School. Yi also holds a Master’s degree in Executive Business Administration from Guanghua School of Management of Peking University.

He joined Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) in 1985. Yi has since been promoted to various positions. Among his positions have been Vice President of ICBC Zhejiang Branch and Vice President of ICBC Jiangsu Branch. Yi has served as President of the bank’s Jiangsu Branch since October 2000.  Since October 2005 he served as President of ICBC Beijing Branch.  He got another promotion in July 2008 becoming Vice President of ICBC.

Yi became the bank President in May 2013 and became Vice Chairman and Executive Director in July 2013. While many climbed the corporate ladder, he is one of the very few who got the top management position.

ICBC is one of the largest banks in the world. Based on independent statistics, at the end of 2013, ICBC ranked first in the Chinese banking industry in terms of corporate loans and balance of corporate deposits, with a market share of 11.5 percent and 12 percent respectively. 

Martin Winterkorn: VW CEO

You have to be pretty knowledgeable to run a huge company like Volkswagen.  Martin Winterkorn fits the bill. Before joining the company he already had impressive academic credentials.  Martin was born on May 24, 1947 in Leonberg, Germany. He studied metallurgy and metal physics at the University of Stuttgart from 1966 to 1973.  Martin received his doctorate in 1977 after having studied from 1973 to 1977 at the Max-Planck-Institute for Metal Research and Metal Physics.

He then began his career in 1977 joining the private sector as a specialist assistant in the research division “Process Engineering” at Robert Bosch GmbH. Martin headed the refrigerant compressor development group “Substance and Processes” at Robert Bosch GmbH and Bosch-Siemens-Hausgeräte GmbH.

By 1993 Martin was working as head of “Group Quality Assurance” at Volkswagen AG. In March 1994 he was appointed General Manager of Volkswagen AG with power of attorney. From June 1995 Martin was also additionally responsible for VW Group Product Management. He became Member of the Brand Board of Management for “Technical Development” for the Volkswagen brand. In July 2000, he became Member of the VW Group Board of Management for Technical Development.

Martin had a big hand with the introduction of the New Beetle. He was instrumental in getting then Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piëch to approve its production.

In March 2002 Martin became Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG. He was in charge of the Audi brand group; this included SEAT and Lamborghini, which was formed on January 2002. In his role as CEO of the Board of Management of Audi AG, Martin was also Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG.

After having climbed the corporate ladder beginning in 1977, Martin became the CEO of Volkswagen AG in January 1, 2007.

The Volkswagen Group is popularly known as a car manufacturer but it also into truck production and other mobility related services. Brands under its belt include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, Scania, and Man. 

Lowell McAdam: Verizon CEO

Lowell McAdam was born in 1954 in Buffalo, New York. He went to Cornell University and earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Lowell earned his MBA from the University of San Diego. He worked for six year in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps and qualified as a licensed professional engineer in 1979.

From 1983 to 1993 Lowell held a number of executive positions with Pacific Bell.  This included being area vice president of Bay Area marketing and general manger of South Bay customer services.  He then joined AirTouch in 1993 as executive director of international applications and operations. Lowell has served as vice president-international operations for AirTouch Communications and was lead technical partner for cellular ventures in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Korea and Japan.

Lowell was president and CEO PrimeCo Personal Communications, a joint venture between Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch. He then held various executive positions at Verizon Wireless since it was formed in 2000 and was named president and CEO from 2007 until he was promoted to COO of Verizon.

After serving as president and COO, Lowell became CEO of Verizon on August 1, 2011 and chairman on January 1, 2012.

John B. Hess: Hess Corp CEO

Hess Corporation is an exploration and production company that develops, produces, purchases, transports and sells crude oil and natural gas globally. While not in the size of Exxon Mobil it is still a huge company by any measure ranked by Fortune in the top 100 of the 500 largest companies in the world.

The company was started by an enterprising young man, Leon Hess the father of John B. Hess, who at age 19 formed Hess Incorporated in 1933. He purchased a 1926 second-hand 615 gallon oil delivery truck and started residential delivery, seven days a week in Ashbury Park, New Jersey which was near his home.

A shift by large power companies from coal to oil provided an opportunity for Hess to expand in 1937. He purchased 5 more trucks and expanded his business to include post-refinery residual fuel oil. With business continuing to grow the company purchased it first terminal site in Perth Amboy, New Jersey I in 1938. This had facilities to unload barges and three years later facilities to unload tankers were also added.

John B. Hess was born in April 5, 1954. John earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1977. This Harvard alumnus would later head Hess Corporation.

A defining moment in the company’s history was its merger with Amerada in the mid-1960s. There was controversy surrounding the deal but it eventually pushed through. The result was a $2.4 billion merger between Amerada a purely production company with Hess a refinery and marketer operation.  The company became known as Amerada Hess.

John became the chairman and CEO of Hess Corporation in 1995.

Amerada Hess continued to grow and in 2001 purchased Triton Energy Limited. Subsequent low energy prices caused the firm to loss profit then began to earn profits again starting 2003.  From Amerada Hess Corp. the firm changed its name to Hess Corp. in May 2006.

The firm of late has been selling assets including its gasoline station network becoming a purely exploration and production company.  This strategic transformation was led by John who stepped down as chairman in May 2013 but retained his CEO position. 

Greg L. Armstrong: PAA CEO

Greg L. Armstrong graduated from the Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a degree in accounting and management. Greg is also a Certified Public Accountant. He has been with Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) or its predecessors since 1981.

Greg among other positions held was Corporate Secretary of Plains Resources Inc. from 1981 to 1988. He served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1984 to 1991. Greg had been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Plains Resources, Inc. from October 1992 to May 2001.

Since January 2010 Greg has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PNGS GP LLC and General Partner of PAA Natural Gas Storage, LLC. Plains All American Pipeline L.P. is a publicly traded master limited partnership which completed its IPO in 2010. Greg is the CEO of this firm. 

PAA gets majority of its revenue from the transportation, storage, terminalling and marketing of crude oil and refined products. Under Greg’s management, PAA has greatly enlarged its influence in natural gas storage, acquiring the remaining 50 percent interest in PAA Natural Gas Storage in 2009.

Greg sees the big role and demand natural gas will have in the country and is taking the necessary steps so that PAA can greatly profit from the situation. 

William J. DeLaney III: Sysco CEO

William J. DeLaney III graduated in 1977 from the University of Notre Dame. He earned in 1982 a Master of Business Administration from the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

William joined Sysco which is traded in the New York Stock Exchange as assistant Treasurer at the firm’s corporate headquarters in 1987. He earned a promotion in 1991 becoming the company treasurer. William was appointed a Vice President in 1993 and held this position until 1994.

In 1996 he joined Sysco Syracuse as CFO. He moved up the ranks becoming Senior Vice President in 1998 and Executive Vice President in 2002. William transferred to Sysco Charlotte as President and CEO in 2004. He went back to Houston in 2007 and was appointed Executive Vice President and CFO of the company. William served this role for two years and was then promoted to CEO in March 2009; he joined the firm’s Board of Directors earlier in January 2009. Since February 2010, William has also served as Sysco’s President.

Outside of Sysco, he has served since September 2011 on the Board of Directors of Aristotle Holdings and Express Scripts. William also sits on the Board of Directors of the Center for Houston’s Future which was founded by the Greater Houston Partnership.

Sysco is a global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. The firm’s family of products also includes equipment and supplies for foodservice and hospitality industries.

Sysco runs 193 distribution centers catering to around 425,000 customers. In Fiscal Year 2013 that ended June 29, 2013, the firm produced record sales of over $44 billion. Sysco today is comprised of six business groups.

The largest part of its business is its 95 broad line operating companies that distribute a full line of food products and a wide variety of non-food products to both independent and chain restaurants customer and other “away-from-home” locations like healthcare and educational facilities. 

Bruce Broussard: Humana CEO

Bruce Broussard was appointed by the Board of Directors of Humana as President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2013. This completed an over year long transition plan to the CEO role.  He actually began his employment at Humana in 2011 when he was appointed President. It was announced the same year that CEO Michael McCallister would retire in the next 12 to 18 months, with Bruce named as his successor.

Bruce was born in 1962 and graduated from Mays Business School, Texas in 1984 with a BBA in finance and accounting. Bruce joined Price Waterhouse as a Manager in 1987 and in the same year also began studying for an MBA in finance from the University of Houston. He joined a number of healthcare related companies and gained a broad range of executive leadership experience in publicly traded and private organizations within a variety of health care sectors.

Humana is a prominent player in the health insurance sector mainly through Medicare. It is one of the largest Medicare providers in the U.S. and a top health insurer. The firm has over 12 million health plan members in the U.S.

W. Craig Jelinek: Costco CEO

W. Craig Jelinek previously held various management positions with Fed-Mart and Gemco. He then joined Costco Wholesale Corporation in 1984. This move would set him up to eventually lead the company.

Among the positions he has held include being Vice President, Regional Operations Manager-Los Angeles Region from May 1986 to September 1994. Jelinek has served as an Executive Vice President and Chief Operation Officer of Merchandising of Costco Wholesale Corp. since September 1995 and February 2004 respectively.

He became the President in February 2010 of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Chief Executive Officer on January 2012.  Jelinek has been a director of the company since February 2010.

The company Jelinek heads is a member-only warehouse club that offers a wide selection of merchandise. As of July 2012, it is the second largest retailer in the United States, the seventh largest retailer in the world and the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States.

Cheap is one of the words that Jelinek and the company adhere to. There is a no frills approach that he is keeping which has been the hallmark of the company’s success aside from good service. The company takes to heart of keeping the prices down and passing on the savings to members.

Under the Price Club name, the company opened its first location in a converted airplane hangar on Morena Boulevard in San Diego. It initially served small businesses then the company discovered it could produce greater buying power by also catering to a select audience of non-business members.

The first Costco warehouse location was opened in Seattle in 1983. The firm achieved a record by being the first company to ever grow from zero to  $3 billion in sales in less than six years. Price Club and Costco merged in 1993 and became known as PriceCostco.  The combined entity generated $16 billion in annual sales from 206 locations.

The Costco name was revived in 1997. Today the company that Jelinek leads has worldwide operations and in recent years had total annual sales greater than $64 billion.

Donnie Smith: Tyson Foods Head

Donnie Smith hails from Bell Buckle, Tennessee.  He was a pre-vet major who later shifted courses and graduated with an animal science degree from the University of Tennessee.  After graduating he joined Tyson Foods in December 1980.

Donnie began his career at Tyson as a broiler service rep. After a few years he was promoted to feed mill manager in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Then the CEO transferred Donnie to company headquarters in Springdale, Arizona in 1987 to work with the company’s grain purchasing group.  By the mid-1990’s he was in charge of additional purchasing groups including bags, box, food ingredients, maintenance items and more.

Donnie was then moved to logistics overseeing transportation and warehousing. As the company grew in diversity with the acquisition of a major beef company Donnie’s importance in the company also grew handling ever greater level of responsibilities. In fact the guy with a degree in animal science even became the Chief Information Officer at one point heading the company’s information systems.

Donnie, after more promotions eventually became president and CEO in 2009. He is credited with turning the company around after it experienced a sharp downturn during the financial crisis.