Samuel Tsien: OCBC Group CEO

Samuel Tsien earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He has 36 years of solid banking experience. From 1995 to 2006, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America (Asia), and Asia Consumer and Commercial Banking Group Executive of Bank of America Corporation. 

Before joining OCBC Bank, Samuel was the President and Chief Executive Officer of China Construction Bank (Asia) when China Construction Bank acquired Bank of America (Asia). He joined OCBC Bank in July 2007 as Senior Executive Vice President, in charge of the Group’s corporate and commercial banking business. He assumed in 2008, the role as Global Head of Global Corporate Bank with added responsibilities of overseeing the financial institution and transaction banking businesses. 

Samuel who is in his late 50s was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer on April 15, 2012. 

Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd is one of the largest public companies in the world with annual sales of over $8 billion with 29,512 employees.  It engages in banking, life assurance, general insurance, asset management, investment holding, future, and stockbroking businesses. The bank’s headquarters is in Singapore. 

R. Milton Johnson: HCA Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

R. Milton Johnson is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Belmont University. He worked as an accountant with what is now Ernst & Young and spent a couple of years working with HCA accountants. So when he joined HCA in 1982 he had been walking the halls of their headquarters since 1980. So he had actually been involved with HCA right after graduating from college. 

During the period HCA had a large international presence, Milton worked with executives responsible for managing hospitals in the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. He developed relationships with many of those men and women over time. R. Milton even helped them with their personal tax returns. When HCA offered him a position in the tax department, it wasn’t as if he was joining an unfamiliar company in fact is was quite the opposite. 

In 1987 he was head of HealthTrust tax department when HCA spun off the company. He came back to HCA as vice president of tax when HealthTrust was taken back in by HCA. 

R. Milton climbed the corporate ladder becoming senior vice president and controller, then executive vice president and chief financial offer. In 2009, he was appointed to the board of directors of HCA.  In 2011, he was named president of HCA. In January 2014 ,he began serving as the company’s CEO and on December 2014, he also became chairman. 

R. Milton leads a huge organization, a close to $36 billion integrated healthcare system that includes around 166 hospitals, 113 freestanding surgery centers, and more than 35,000 affiliated physicians  in 20 states and the United Kingdom. The company has its in payroll 220,000 employees of which around 35 percent are registered nurses. 

Milton is a committed volunteer and has held offices in a number of organizations within the community. He is currently a co-chair of Partnership 2020 with the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of Nashville Health Care Council and the United Way of Metro Nashville, among others. 

Chang-Soo Kim: Samsung Life Insurance Co CEO & President

There are many huge corporations run by competent managers who are not that well know internationally. Chang-Soo Kim runs one of the largest companies on the planet and must therefore have what it takes to handle such a large responsibility. 

Chang-Soo Kim is a business administration graduate of Korea University. Among the various managerial positions he has held include serving as Vice President and Head of Plant and Machinery Division of Samsung C&T Corporation. He was also the Chief Executive Officer and President of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. 

In January 28, 2014, Kim became Chief Executive Officer and President of Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd. He also serves as an Executive Director at Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd. 

Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd. was founded on April 24, 1957, and is based in Seoul, South Korea. It engages in the life insurance and financial services business. The firm runs its businesses through the following divisions: insurance, loan, corporate pension, fund and trust. It conducts its business within the domestic market and to overseas markets.

It is one of the largest publicly listed companies in the world with 5,353 employees and sales of $24 billion. 

Lamberto Andreotti: Bristol-Myers Squibb Chairman

Lamberto Andreotti was born on July 6, 1950, in Rome, Italy. He earned an engineering degree from Sapienza University of Rome. Lamberto would later earn a Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

He worked for a number of pharmaceutical companies such as Farmitalia Carlo Erba, KABI Pharmacia and Pharmacia & Upjohn. Lamberto then joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1998 as Vice President and General Manager, European Oncology and Italy. He rose further up the executive ladder holding roles of increasing responsibility. Lamberto was elected to the Board of Directors in 2009. In 2010 he was named Chief Executive Officer, he served in this role for five years. 

Under his stewardship, the company transformed becoming a leader in the biopharma industry. The company is now known for its robust pipeline and portfolio of innovative medicines, it has also pioneered the increasingly promising field of immuno-oncology.  Earlier in the year he announced his retirement as CEO to coincide right after his 65th birthday to devote more time to his personal life. 

Since Lamberto assumed the CEO role, based in early January 2015, company shares have gained around 196 percent compared to 90 percent for the S&P 500. Lamberto is now the Chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharma company that generates annual revenue of around $16 billion. 

Bristol-Myers was founded in 1887 by William McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers in Clinton, New York. Squibb on the other hand was founded in 1858 by Edward Robinson Squibb in Brooklyn, New York.  The Squibb corporation served as a major supplier of medical goods to the Union Army during the United States Civil War, providing portable medical kits containing morphine, surgical anesthetics, and quinine for the treatment of malaria (which was endemic in most of the eastern United States at that time). 

Bristol-Myers Squibb was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation. 

Chung Mong-Koo: Hyundai Moto Co. Chairman

Chung Mong-Koo was born on March 19, 1938, in Tongchong County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. Chung is the second son of the late Chung Ju-Yung, the son of a peasant farmer, who after the Korean War, repaired trucks for the US Army and went on to create a conglomerate that help set South Korea on a direction to becoming an export powerhouse and the fourth-largest economy in Asia. 

Chung graduated from Kyungbock High Schools and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering  from Hanyang University. 

Chung succeeded his father as chairman of the Hyundai Motor group which is made up of 42 subsidiaries and is the second largest Chaebol in South Korea. He was convicted of embezzlement and breach of fiduciary duty on February 2007, but was given a suspended sentence and was fully pardoned by President Lee Myung-bak. To make amends, Chung agreed to donate $1 billion over several years to benefit Korean society. 

Even though already in his mid 70s he is very much active in the group’s management and is said to personally head monthly quality reviews with senior executives. 

Benoît Potier: Air Liquide Chairman & CEO

Frenchman Benoît Potier was born in 1957 and is a graduate of the prestigious École Centrale de Paris. In 1981 he joined Air Liquide as a Research  and Development engineer.  He became a Project Manager in the Engineering and Construction Division. Benoît was later named Vice-President of Energy and Development in the Large Industries business line. 

He continued his climb up the corporate ladder and was made Director of Strategy & Organization in 1993. The following year we became head  of the Chemicals, Metal & Steel,  Oil and Energy Markets.  In 1995 Air Liquide appointed him an Executive Vice-President with additional responsibilities over the Engineering & Construction Division and the Large Industries operations in Europe. 

In 1997 Benoît was named Senior Executive Vice-President  and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2000. In November 2001 he became Chairman of the Management Board. 

Benoît reached the position the only a select few will every achieve, he was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L’Air Liquide SA in 2006. 

With more than 50,000 employees and over $20 billion in sales, Air Liquide SA is on of the largest publicly listed companies in the world. The company Benoît heads is headquartered in Paris, France and was founded on November 8, 1902, by George Claude and Paul Delorme. 

It supplies gases, technologies and services for the industry and health businesses. Air Liquide SA operates its business through three segments: Gas & Services, Engineering & Construction and Other Activities. 

The Gas & Services segment engages in the supply of gases, which is organized by geographical areas such as Europe, America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle-East and Africa. The Engineering & Construction segment designs, develops and builds industrial gas production plants for the Group and third parties. It also designs and manufactures plants in the traditional, renewable and alternative energy sectors. The Other Activities segment primarily operates its business through two businesses: Welding and Diving. 

George Cope: BCE and Bell Canada President & CEO

George Cope was raised in Port Perry, a small town in Ontario, Canada. He played basketball for Western University until a knee injury sidelined him. George earned a Business Administration (Honours) degree from Ivey Business School at Western University and was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws from Western in recognition of his success in telecommunications and his dedication to promoting mental health awareness. 

George was President and CEO of  cellphone provider Clearnet for 13 years. The company was bought out by TELUS Mobility in 2000 and George eventually wound up as President and CEO of TELUS Mobility. 

He became president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada in 2008. 

BCE Inc., is a telecommunications and media company that provides wireless, wireline, Internet and television services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media segments. 

The company operates approximately 30 conventional TV stations; and 39 speciality pay, pay, and pay-per-view TV channels; 106 radio stations; 10,500 advertising faces; and 200 Websites. 

Wolfgang Büchele: Linde AG CEO

Wolfgang Büchele was born in 1959 in Geislingen, Germany. He holds a degree in chemistry graduating from the University of Ulm, Germany in 1984. Wolfgang completed his doctorate in natural sciences  with special field in inorganic chemistry in 1987.

From 1984 until 1987 he was an assistant in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Ulm,Germany. 

Wolfgang began his career as a research chemist at BASF AG, Ludwigshafen in 1987. From 1990 onwards, he held various executive positions in Ludwigshafen, Germany and Hong Kong, China. In 2001 he was named President for Eastern Europe, Africa, West Asia Regional Division. Wolfgang became President of the Performance Chemicals Division in 2003. In 2005 he was appointed President of the Fine Chemicals Division. 

Wolfgang became a Project Advisor  at The Blackstone Group International Partners LLP, London, UK in 2008. Then from 2009 until 2011 he was member of the Board and CEO of BordsodChem Zrt., in Budapest, Hungary. From 2012 until 2014 he was the President and CEO of Kemira Oyj, Helsinki, Finland. 

With his and solid leadership experience in the chemicals industry it wasn’t a surprise when he was named CEO of Munich, Germany based Linde AG.

The Linde Group, registered as Linde AG was founded in 1879 by Carl von Linde in Germany. It is now a multinational industrial gases and engineering company. Linde AG is the world’s largest industrial gas company by market share and by revenue as well. The company’s shares are traded in all the German stock exchanges and in Zurich as well. The Linde share price is also included in the DAX 30 index. Aside from its Munich headquarters there is also some supporting headquarter functions in Surrey, England. 

The Linde Group has more than 600 affiliated companies in over 100 countries, with customers in the industrial, retail, trade, science, research, and public sectors. It registered revenue of €17.047 billion in 2014 on assets of €34.425 billion. 

Marc N. Casper: Thermo Fisher Scientific President & CEO

Marc N. Casper earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wesleyan University. Marc obtained an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School. He began his career as a strategist at Bain & Company and later moved to Bain Capital. 

Marc was President-Americas for clinical diagnostics provider Dade Behring, Inc. He later became President, Chief Executive Officer and director of Kendro Laboratory Products. He then joined Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2001 as President of the Life Sciences sector of Thermo Electron. 

In 2003, he was named Senior Vice President, and in 2005 was given responsibility for all of the company’s operating divisions. After the merging creating Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2006, he was named President of Analytic Technologies. Marc was named Chief Operating Officer in 2008.  In October 2009, March became President and Chief Executive Officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. 

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is the world leader in servicing science, with revenues of $17 billion and approximately 50,000 employees in 50 countries. The company helps customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. 

William Thomas: EOG Resources Chairman & CEO

William “Bill” Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Texas A&M University at College Station. Early in Bill’s career, he held various technical positions such as district geologist, senior exploration geologies and production geologists. He began his career as a district engineer, at Dowell, an oil field services company. In 1979 he joined an EOG predecessor company as a production engineer in the firm’s Sonara offices. Bill also led EOG offices in Midland and Corpus Christi, where he was named Vice President and General Manger in 1988. 

Bill spearheaded EOG’s move to explore horizontal share potential with the development of EOG’s Barnett Shale Play in North Texas and other key resource plays. While baed in Fort Worth, Bill was Executive Vice President and prior to that was Senior Vice President ang General Manager, beginning in June 2004. He moved to the company’s Houston headquarters in February 2011. 

He was named President in September 2011, and President and Chief Executive Officer in June 2013. In January 2014, Bill was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EOG Resources, Inc. He has been with EOG and its predecessor companies for over 36 years. 

Bill is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologist, the Forth Worth Geological Society and the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association. He is an advocate for EOG’s community charity activities, and Bill and his wife Jane serve on the board of Casa de Esperanza. He is an active church member and is a strong supporter of international relief efforts through Samaritan’s Purse. 

EOG Resources, Inc. is one of the largest independent (non-integrated) crude oil and natural gas companies in the United States with proved reserves in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China. EOG is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is traded under the ticker symbol “EOG”.  As of 2014, the firm’s net operating revenues was at $18 billion and net income was $2.9 billion. 

Koei Tsuge: Central Japan Railway President

Koei Tsuge joined the now-defunct Japanese National Railways in 1977. In 1987, Japanese National Railways was broken up, into seven railways of which one of them is the Central Japan Railway. Since April 1, 2014, he has been serving as President and Representative Director. Koie’s previous roles include Director of General Affairs, Director of Human Resources, Managing Director and Director of Secretary. 

The company that Koei heads is huge. Central Japan Railway Co. is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. It has over 28,000 employees and generates sales in excess of $15 billion. 

The company engages in the operation of railways and commercial establishments. It operates through the following segments: Transportation, Merchandise and Other, Real Estate, and Other Services. 

The Transportation segment involves railway business and bus businesses. The Merchandise and Other segment manages department stores and provides sales services of good and food in stations and trains. The Real Estate segment engages in the development of commercial facilities in stations and areas under elevated track columns, and it leases real estates such as station buildings. The Other Services segment manages hotels at major stations, travel businesses and advertising agencies. It also manufactures rolling stock and maintains, inspects and repairs railway facilities. 

Mark Parker: Nike CEO

Mark Parker was born on October 21, 1955, in Poughkeepsie, New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science graduating from Penn State University in 1977. Mark ran on the Penn State track and cross country teams. Mark clearly belongs to the world of running and sports. He is married to Kathy Mills Parker and has three grown children. Kathy happens to be a former world record holder in the 5,000 meters. 

His interest with designing shoes lay in his desire to make a better running shoe. This was all part of his goal to trying to have a faster marathon time. He made sketches and created soles and glued them on his Asics to see if they worked. 

After graduating from college he joined Nike in 1979 and was one of the company’s first footwear designers in their R&D facility in Exeter, New Hampshire working in a startup-like environment. Mark became Division Vice President in charge of development in 1987, Corporate Vice President in 1989, General Manager in 1993, and Vice President of Global Footwear in 1998. In March 2001 he became co-president of the Nike brand and would eventually become Vice President of Nike. In 2006 he became the third CEO of Nike.  

Mark led the way for Nike Air and numerous industry-breakthroughs in product design. He is described as having a mild and subtle way of changing an opinion. Mark also deals directly with superstar athletes like Kobe Bryant and Serena Williams. Being a shoe designer at heart he is able to relate to them in the designs of shoes that carry their name. As an athlete himself Mark knows how they feel and what are their needs. He takes to heart a phrase that is important to Nike “Serve the athlete.”

Annual revenue has double at Nike from $15 billion to $30.6 since Mark took over as CEO in 2006. Share price has risen sixfold from $21 in January 2006 to $125 in early October 2015. 

Sergio Marchionne: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV

Sergio Marchionne was born on June 17, 1952, in Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. When he was 14 years old, he emigrated with his family to Toronto, Canada where they had relatives. Sergio has dual Italian and Canadian citizenship and is fluent in both Italian and English. 

He earned a bachelor of Commerce and an MBA from the University of Windsor in 1979 and 1985 respectively. In 1983 he earned a law degree from the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. Sergio is a Canadian Certified General Accountant (FCGA), barrister, and a fellow of the Certified General Accountants of Ontario. 

He worked as an accountant and tax specialist for Deloitte & Touche in Canada from 1983 to 1985. Sergio was Group Controller and then Director of Corporate Development at the Lawson Group in Toronto. After working with several other companies in senior executive roles he became the CEO of Fiat S.p.A. in May 2003. 

Sergio is widely recognized for turning Fiat back to profitability in 2006 less than two  years after taking charge; he played a key role in also turning Chrysler back into profitability after it emerged from bankruptcy. In August 1, 2014, Fiat and Chrysler merged and Sergio now sits as CEO of Fiat Chrysler automobiles and Chairman of CNH Industrial. 

Steven J. Kean: Kinder Morgan President & CEO

Steven J. Kean earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a law degree from the University of Iowa. Intending to become a lawyer he instead became a lobbyist and an executive. Steven joined Enron Corp. and climbed the corporate ladder becoming chief of staff for the late Ken Lay, the former CEO of energy company which had a spectacular collapse. He left after the company entered bankruptcy in 2001 and joined Kinder Morgan. Unlike his boss Steven was never criminally charged and his civil case was dropped.

Steven became known at Kinder Morgan as someone good at ironing out details of complex acquisitions. The company bought 3,400 miles of pipeline from Tejas Gas in 2002, more than doubling the mileage gas pipe it has been running through Texas. It was also during this time that Steve was hired by the company as a young executive. 

In a matter of months he was leading the drive to integrate the newly bought pipeline asset into the business of Kinder Morgan. Steven’s work would set the groundwork for the company’s eventual status as the largest natural gas infrastructure operator in North America. It also set him as a front running contender to succeed company co-founder and CEO Richard Kinder. 

He became chief operating officer in January 2006. A few months before that he had joined the company’s executive inner circle when he was included in its Office of the Chairman, a triumvirate that at the time comprised Steven, Richard, and then-president Park Shaper.

Steven had a central and increasingly public leadership role by 2013. It was announced in December 2014 that Steven would succeed Richard Kinder as CEO, this didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. 

Steven is now responsible for developing and executing the company’s vision and strategy and allocating capital to Kinder Morgan business units in a discipline manner. He also coordinates the company’s efforts to achieve operational excellence.

Frédéric Lavenir: CNP Assurances CEO

Frédéric Lavenir was born in 1960. His a graduate of the École de Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) and the Ecole Nationale d’Adminstration (ENA). He is Vice President of the Association for the Right to Economic Initiative (ADIE) of France. Frédéric served as a Finance Inspector from 1986 to 1990. Then he joined the French Treasury, initially as head of banking regulations and then as director of the insurance company office.

Frédéric was appointed Secretary General of the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring (CIRI) in 1995, then was appointed Deputy Director of the Office of the Minister of Economy and Finance from 1997 to 2000. In early 2001 Frédéric joined BNP Paribas as Chief Operating Officer of BNP Paribas Lease Group and was named the business line’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2002. In January 2007 he became Head of Human Resources at BNP Paribas and a member of the Executive Committee. 

He became the CEO of CNP Assurances effective September 26, 2012. Both his private and public sector experiences were cited as advantages for CNP Assurances to make Frédéric their CEO. 

CNP Assurances is based in Paris, France and generates annual sales of over $57 billion. 

Emmanuel Faber: Danone CEO

Emmanuel Faber was born on January 22, 1964, and graduated from the prestigious French educational institution, HEC. Emmanuel then embarked in his professional career and began working as a consultant at Bain & Co., later he joined Baring Brothers. 

He joined Legris Industries in 1993, as Chief Administrative and Financial Officer and was promoted in 1996 as Chief Executive Officer. In 1997, Emmanuel joined Danone as Head of Finance, Strategies and Information Systems. IN 2000, he was named a member of the Executive Committee. While Danone was strengthening its management structure in the Asia-Pacific region, Emmanuel was appointed Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific region in charge of the Group’s operational activities. 

Since January 1, 2008, he has been a Deputy General Manager of Danone, responsible for major corporate functions (Finance, Human Resource, etc.) Emmanuel was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors on April 28, 2011. He has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Danone Ecosystem Fund since 2008. Emmanuel has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Livelihoods Fund since December 2011. 

His position came about after the change in Danone’s governance wherein the Chairman and the CEO functions were separated with the Chairman’s duties strengthened. Emmanuel became the CEO effective October 1, 2014.

Danone is a French food processing company that has around 99,927 employees and sales in excess of $20 billion. It operates through the following divisions: French  Dairy Products, Waters, Early life Nutrition, and Medical Nutrition. 

The Dairy Fresh Products division produces and markets yogurts, fermented fresh dairy products, and other specialized fresh daily products. The Waters division is made of the natural waters business along with aqua drinks. The Early Life Nutrition division focuses on specialized foods for babies and young children to complement breast-feeding while always complying with the World Health Organization Code and local laws. It manufactures infant formula, cereal snacks, biscuits and other food products for infants. 

The Medical Nutrition division focuses mainly on people receiving medical treatment, babies afflicted with certain illnesses and frail elderly  people. The Division’s products are designed primarily to treat disease-related to malnutrition by satisfying special food needs. 

Chanda Kochhar: ICIC Bank CEO

Chanda Kochhar was born on November 17, 1961, in Jodhpur, Rajastan, India and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Chanda is a graduate of the St. Angela Sophia School, Jaipur. She then moved to Mumbai and entered Jai Hind College for a Bachelor of Arts degree graduating in 1982. Chanda then proceeded to study cost accountancy at ICWAI. She lated earned a master’s degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. 

Chanda joined the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India in 1984 as a management trained after she finished he master’s degree. She then was sent to ICIC Bank in 1993. Chanda rose through the ranks and eventually became CEO and Managing Director in May 2009. 

She has been acknowledged as doing a fantastic job in leading a transformation of India’s largest private bank which had undergone major setbacks after the 2008 financial crisis. She leads a bank with close to $125 million in assets and has been producing admirable profits.  She has also been praised for using “mobile banking” as a model for low cost expansion.

Ulf Mark Schneider: Fresenius CEO

Ulf Mark Schneider who’s also known as Mark was born in 1965, in Germany.  Academic-wise Mark  has achieved what has basically has to be achieved, from the University of St Gallen, he earned a degree in finance and accounting and a PhD in economics. He also holds an MBA from Harvard. 

Mark began working for Franz Haniel & Cie in 1989. He held a number of senior executive positions then rose to the rank of Group Finance Director for the Coventry-based Gehe UK plc, a pharmaceutical wholesale and retail distributor which is part of the Haniel group, in 1995. 

In November 2001, Mark joined Fresenius as chief financial officer of the Fresenius Medical Care.  On May 28, 2003, less than two years, since joining he became the CEO of the entire group. Mark was the choice of no less than his predecessor Gerd Krick. He was 37 years of age at that time and a relative newcomer to the company. Many were surprised by the decision and Mark himself did not expect it. 

He hasn’t been a disappointment but on the contrary has increased the firm’s revenue and helped expand the company’s global presence. In the first five years of heading the company Mark was able raise sales by 50 percent to $14.5 billion and operating profit by 85 percent to $1.9 billion. In turn the price of share in the company quadrupled. 

He has expanded the firm to a significant extent through acquisition with the objective of strengthening all three of the firm’s major divisions with small and medium purchases. Mark knows the importance of acquiring small and medium companies. Yet he also does big acquisitions like in 2006 when he led the purchase of Renal Care Group Inc and Helios Kliniken GmbH for around $6 billion. Buying Helios Kliniken made Fresenius one of the top three hospital operators in Germany.

Fresenius is a global healthcare group offering high-quality products and services for dialysis, hospitals, and outpatients treatment. It has over 200,000 employees in over 100 countries and annual sales of over €20 billion. 

Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Chairman & CEO

Mark Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York.  He is the son of a dentist father and a psychiatrist mother. Mark excelled in his academics in high school. In middle school he began using computers and coding. 

It is reported by the time he entered Harvard University he already achieved a reputation as a programming prodigy. While in college he co-founded with five other people the social networking website, Facebook. They launched Facebook from Harvard University’s dormitory rooms. They then launched Facebook onto other campuses nationwide and moved to Palo Alto, California shortly thereafter. 

When Mark was 23 years old in 2007, he became a billionaire riding on the success of Facebook. In 2012, the number of Facebook users climbed to a total of one billion. Mark was also involved in a number of legal disputes that were started by others in the group, who claimed a share of the company based on their involvement during he development phase of Facebook. 

He sits as chairman and CEO of Facebook ,earning a CEO salary of one dollar. His net worth though as of July 2015, was estimated at $38.6 billion.

Dong-Woo Han: Shinhan Financial Group Chairman

Korean Dong-Woo Han graduated from Busan High School in 1966. He earned a law degree from the College of Law at Seoul National University in 1970. He began his career at Korea Trust Bank in January 1971.

Dong stayed at Korea Trust Bank for over 6 years then in 1977 joined Korea Credit Guarantee Fund. Having worked at the guarantee fund for almost five years Dong became more pioneering becoming a founding staff member of Shinhan Bank in 1982. Over a year later he was named Head of Planning & Coordination at Shinhan Bank.  In February 1986 he was named General Manager of the Jong-No Branch of Shinhan Bank. Just over a year later in August 1987 he was appointed Personnel manager of Shinhan Bank.

Dong became a Director of the bank in 1993. A little less than two years  later in February 1995 he became Managing Director of Shinhan Bank. Dong was named Vice President in 1999. Then in May 2002 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Shinhan Life Insurance. In May 2007 he was named Vice Chairman of Shinhan Life Insurance. Dong became Chairman & CEO of Shinhan Financial Group in 2011.  

The Shinhan Financial Group was founded in 2001. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, it has approximately 51,000 employees. Sales are in the region of $20 billion. The group offers commercial and consumer banking related financial and investment services. It operates retail, corporate and investment banking, credit card, wealth management, brokerage, and insurance. 

Dong has been pushing for the financial group to expand its business abroad, this includes Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mexico. He has stated that it is hard for the banking sector to advance into other countries according to the policy of each country. So the firm’s strategy is to expand their business in other parts of the consumer finance sector first and later expand it further in the banking sector. 

Pierre-André de Chalendar: Saint-Gobain CEO

Pierre-André de Chalendar was born on April 12, 1958, in Vichy, France. He went to the country’s top schools graduating in 1979 from ESSEC business school and the École National d’Administration (ENA) in 1983. 

Pierre started his career at the General Inspection of Finance (IGF) in 1983. He was appointed Financial Inspector in 1984, Project Manager from 1987 to 1988 and Deputy Director from 1988 to 1989 in the General Directorate for Energy and Raw Materials of the Ministry of Industry and Energy. 

He joined Saint-Gobain on October 1, 1989, as Vice-President for Corporate Planning and held that position until 1992. He was then appointed Corporate Vice-President of Saint-Gobain Corp. (USA) and Managing Director of Norton Abrasives Europe from 1992 to 1996. Pierre then became President of the global Abrasives Division and Chairman and CEO of Norton SA from 1996 until 2000. From 2000 to 2003, he was General Delegate for the United Kingdom and Ireland and Chief Executive of Meyer International. 

After further promotions he became Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain in 2007. Pierre became Chairman and CEO on June 3, 2010. 

Dean Connor: Sun Life Financial CEO

Dean Connor earned an Honors Business Administration (HBA) from Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. He worked for Mercer Human Resources consulting for 28 years and became President for the Americas, responsible for its business operations in Latin America, United States and Canada. 

In 2006, Dean joined Sun Life Financial as Executive Vice-President with responsibility for Sun Life’s Reinsurance and United Kingdom operations as well strategic international activities and corporate functions. He was named President of Sun Life’s Canadian operations in 2008. 

On December 1, 2011, Dean was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of Sun Life’s Board of Directors. 

The company that Dean leads is around 150 years old having been founded on March 18, 1865, by Mathew Hamilton Gault. Sun Life which is one of the largest companies in the world is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The firm has around 16,275 employees and generates sales of more than $23 billion. 

Sun Life Financial, Inc. is a diversified financial services company. It offers savings, retirement and pension products, and life and health insurance to individuals and groups through its operations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. 

Sun Life operates its business through five segments: Sun Life Financial Canada, Sun Life Financial United States, MFS Investment Management, Inc., Sun Life Financial Asia and Corporate Support. 

The Sun Life Financial Canada segment provides group benefits and retirement solutions sponsored by employers and affinity groups and more recently distributes directly through the Internet and other channels. The Sun Life Financial United States segment provides annuities, life insurance and group benefits. The MFS Investment Management segment is a global asset management company which offers products and services that address the varying needs of investors over time. 

The Sun Life Asia segment operates through subsidiaries in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Indonesia and through joint ventures with local partners in Indonesia, India and China. The Corporate Support segment includes Sun Life Financial United Kingdom and corporate support operations. 

Hans Vestberg: Ericsson CEO

Hans Vestberg was born on June 23, 1965, in Hudiksvall, Sweden. He holds a Business Administration degree from the Uppsala University, Sweden. Hans joined Ericsson in 1988.

He has gained broad international experience at Ericsson, having been appointed to various management positions for the company in China, Brazil, Mexico, and the US. Hans remains the international advisor to the Governor of Guangdong, China. 

From 1998 to 2000 Hans was CFO of Ericsson in Brazil and in 2000 until 2002 was CFO for Ericsson in North America and comptroller for North and South America. He was President of Ericsson in Mexico from 2002 until 2003. 

Hans served as Chief Financial Officer of Ericsson from 2007 until 2009. On January 1, 2010, he was appointed CEO of Ericsson.

He is focused on advancing the company’s leadership, along with the rest of Ericsson’s executive team, through innovation, technology, services and sustainable business solutions. Under Hans’ stewardship, Ericsson has become the main driver toward the Networked Society, where connectivity is the fuel for progress. 

Rafael Villaseca Marco: Gas Natural Fenosa CEO

Rafael Villaseca Marco is the CEO of Spanish company, Gas Natural Fenosa. He was appointed to the position in January 2005. Aside from this Rafael is Vice Chairman of the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, Board Member of the Foment del Treball Nacional Advisory Council and Member of the Club de Roma Chapter. 

His extensive experience in the industry has no doubt been a factor in Rafael’s appointment to the CEO post of one of the largest companies in the world. He was previously executive director of Enagás, Executive Managing Director of Grupo Panrico, president of Túnels i Accessos de Barcelona, S.A.C. (TABASA), Chairman of Túnel de Cadi, S.A.C. Chairman of Gestió d’Infraestructures, S.A., chairman of Grupo INISEL (now Grupo INDRA), CEO of Nueva Montaña Quijano, S.A., Executive Director of Gas Natural, Executive Director of Amper, S.A., President of Spanish Energy Club and Board Member of the Círculo de Economía.

Rafael was born in 1951, in Barcelona, Spain. He earned an industrial engineering degree from the Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña and an MBA from the IESE business school, University of Navarre. Rafael has been the Chairman of the Ex Alumni Association of the IESE business school. 

Gas Natural Fenosa is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain and is over 170 years old; it was founded in 1843. With over 21, 000 employees it generates annual sales of around $32 billion. 

The firm operates as a natural gas utilities company. It does business in the entire gas value chain, from exploration to distribution and marketing, including production, liquefaction and transportation. It also has facilities for gas storage and regasification. Gas Natural Fenosa operates through the following segments: Gas Distribution, Electricity Distribution, Gas, Electricity, Latin America and Other. 

Leading such a huge organization with operations outside of Spain requires leadership and management skills at the highest level. Rafael has been doing that as attested by his many awards including the Spanish Executive Association (in Spanish, AED) 2009 Director Award, and the best CEO according to the 2010 edition of the Platts Global Energy Awards (New York).

Gary Heminger: Marathon Petroleum CEO

Gary Heminger worked for Marathon Petroleum Company even before he earned his college degree. In 1976 he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Tiffin University while already employed by the company in Findlay, Ohio. Gary holds an MBA degree from the University of Dayton, Ohio earned in 1982. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Advanced Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gary joined the oil company in 1975 giving him over 40 years of experience in Marathon. He has worked in a variety of groups and functions. Aside from five years in various financial and administrative roles, Gary spent three years in London, United Kingdom, as audit advisory of the Brae Project. He worked with Emro Marketing for eight years in several marketing and commercial roles. 

Among his various roles as he climbed the corporate ladder include being named Presint for Marathon Petroleum Company LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon in September 2001. In addition,  he was named Executive Vice President - Downstream of Marathon Oil Corporation and served as member of Marathon’s Executive Committee. 

In July 1, 2011, Gary was appointed President and CEO of Marathon Petroleum Corporation. 

Fan Dazhi: Hua Xia Bank President

Fan Dazhi holds a PhD degree and is a senior accountant. He is the President and Deputy Party Secretary as well as a Director of Hua Xia Bank. Before reaching the position of president Fan was the General Manager of Investment Banking Department at the headquarters of Beijing International Trust Co., Ltd.

He was also Deputy Director and party member of Beijing Offshore Financing and Investment Center. Fan was Director, General Manager and party member of Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co., Ltd. He was Director, General Manager and Deputy Party Secretary of Beijing Securities. He was also Chairman of Supervisory Board of UBS Securities Co, Ltd, and Director, Executive Vice President and Deputy Party Secretary of Hua Xia Bank. 

Fan leads a bank with 25,200 employees and has annual sales of over $16 billion. Hua Xia Bank is a national  commercial bank, which engages in the provision of commercial banking and lending services. The company through its subsidiaries provides various services, which include public deposit-taking, granting of short, medium and long-term loans, domestic and international settlement, bill acceptance and discount, issuance of financial bonds, issuance, encashment and underwriting of government bonds as an agent, trading of government bonds and financial bonds, inter-bank lending and borrowing, trading of foreign exchange on its own behalf and as an agent, bank card service, provision of letter of credit and letter of guarantee, collection and payment service as an agent, safety box service, foreign exchange settlement and sales, sideline insurance agency, and other services. 

The bank operates through various nationwide branches and offices which are divided into four geographical segments: Northern and Northeastern China, Eastern China, Southern and Central China, and Western China. 

In October 1992, the bank began operations in Beijing, China. It became a nationwide joint stock commercial bank after restructuring in March 1995. The bank went public in September 2003, as the fifth Chinese bank listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The bank entered into an agreement in October 2005 with an international strategic investor, Deutsche Bank, and completed two rounds of private placement of new shares in October 2008 and April 2011 respectively. 

Marco Patuano: Telecom Italia CEO

Marco Patuano was born on June 6, 1964, in Alessandria, Italy. In 1990 he graduated from Bacconi University, specializing in Corporate Finance.

After working for a while in the United States, Marco began his career in Telecom Italia in 1990 working at the main headquarters of the company which was then known as SIP. Through the years Marco has worked in the company financial sector, and played a leading role in a phase in which finance was considered from the point of view of providing support to the growth of the business. This was the period of the merger of Telecom Italia, the spin-off of TIM and the start-up of the mobile telephone company. As chief financial officer Marco made significant contribution to this start-up.

His international experience started in 2003 having been assigned to Latin America. Marco eventually headed operations there and rationalized the business for better performance and returns. He came back to Italy in August 2008 to become the Chief Financial Officer of the Group. 

After becoming a member of the Board of Directors and more promotions he was appointed Managing Director of Telecom Italia on April 13, 2011. 

Yasuyoshi Karasawa: MS&AD Insurance President & CEO

Rising through the ranks, Yasuyoshi Karasawa leads a multibillion company which has undergone a number of mergers. To be able to reach the top post of a merged company demonstrates  his top-level leadership and managerial capabilities. 

Yasuyoshi Karasawa joined The Sumitomo Marine and Fire Insurance Co., Ltd in April 1975. He became Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Planning Department of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd (“MSI”) in April 2004. The following year in June 2005 he was  Director, Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Planning at MSI. 

In April 2006, Yasuyoshi was Director, Managing Executive Officer at MSI. He was Director, Senior Executive Officer of MSI and Director of what is now MS&AD Insurance, in April 2008.  Yasuyoshi became Director, Senior Executive Officer of MS&AD Insurance in April 2009. 

In April 2010 he was appointed President and CEO of MSI (a position he still holds) and Director, Executive Officer of MS&AD Insurance. Then on June 2014, Yasuyoshi became the President, Director and CEO of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc. 

He has been focused and involved in the medium-term management plans of the group such as the “New Frontier 2013” launched in 2010 which among other things dealt with achieving sustainable growth through improvement in quality and pursuing group synergies that capitalize on the collective strength of the Group. in 2014 the Group began implementing  a new medium term management plan called “Next Challenge 2017”, with the objective of achieving further growth based on the sound foundation that they had built to date. 

Yasuyoshi has managed to rise and lead a company that has been a product of a number of mergers. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings is the insurance holding company of the new Group formed in April 2010 through the merger of Aioi Insurance Co., Ltd, Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., Ltd, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group.

MS&AD has around 37,000 employees and generates sales in excess of $44 billion dollars and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. 

Masaaki Tsuya-San: Bridgestone Chairman & CEO

Masaaki Tsuya-San earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hitotsubashi University in Japan and holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Chicago.

After having assumed various positions of increasing importance in the company, Masaaki was named Chief Executive Officer of Bridgestone in March 2012. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Among the positions he has held prior to becoming CEO include as Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Human Rights Officer, Chief Risk-Management Officer, Vice President and Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corp. He has been Director of Division of International Relations & Licenses of Bridgestone Corporation Co., Ltd., since July 2004. Masaaki served as Director of Internal Auditing Office, Office of Group Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Bridgestone Corp.

Bridgestone Corporation is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and generates annual sales of more than $34 billion. It has approximately 144,632 employees.  The firm engages in the manufacture and sales of tires and rubber products. Its businesses are carried out through the Tires and Diversified Products segments. The company was founded by Shojiro Ishibashi on March 1, 1931. 

Daniel Zhang: Alibaba Group CEO

Daniel Zhang is a member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Accountants. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

For seven years he worked at Arthur Anderson’s Shanghai office. Then Daniel joined the Audit and Business Advisory Division of PricewaterhouseCoopers based in Shanghai holding the position of Senior Manager from 2002 until 2005.  He then moved over to NASDAQ-listed online game developer and operator, Shanda Interactive Limited and was the Chief Financial Officer from 2005 until 2007. 

Daniel joined the Alibaba Group and served as the Chief Financial Officer of Taobao from August 2007 to June 2011. Then became the President of Tmall.com starting June 2011 and served as its General Manager for three years. He was appointed Senior Vice President of Alibaba Group from January 2013 until September 2013. He then became the Chief Operating Officer of Alibaba Group Holding from September 2013 until May 10, 2015. 

As Chief Operating Officer Daniel led the operations of all Alibaba Group businesses in China and globally. He oversaw the firm’s ongoing transition to mobile; built China Smart Logistics, Alibaba Group’s Comprehensive global logistics network; and launched Tmall Global, Alibaba Group’s platform that enables Chinese consumers to buy international branded products from all over the world. As part of the transition to mobile, Taobao’s mobile app has become the world’s largest mobile shopping platform. Daniel also led several of Alibaba Group’s strategic investments, including Alibaba Health, Haier, Intime Retail and Singapore Post. 

With this kind of talent, drive and accomplishments Daniel’s star has shone bright and hard not to notice. The top brass at Alibaba have certainly noticed him and he was given the top post of Chief Executive Officer of the Alibaba Group in May 2015. Daniel serves on Alibaba Group’s board of directors and is a founding member of the Alibaba Partnership. 

He is chairman of Intime Retail and serves on several other boards of Alibaba-related companies. 

Piyush Gupta: DBS Group CEO

Piyush Gupta earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, India. He went on to earn an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad. 

In 1982, Piyus started his career with Citibank in India. Over the years he held various senior management roles across Citi’s corporate and consumer banking businesses, including Head of Strategic Planning for Emerging Markets and Regional Director for Global Transaction Services for Asia Pacific. Piyus also served as Citi’s County Officer for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore respectively. 

Before joining DBS, Piyush was  Chief Executive Officer for South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand for Citigroup. He now is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of DBS Group, as well as Director of DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and The Islamic Bank of Asia Limited. 

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with assets of around $350 billion, and with more than 280 branches across 18 markets. DBS is listed and headquartered in Singapore and is a market leader in Singapore with more than 4 million customers and also has a growing presence in Greater China, Southeast Asian and South Asia.  

Thomas P. Joyce: Danaher President & CEO

Born and raised on the north shore of Chicago, Thomas P. Joyce Jr., also known as Tom, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1982.  

Tom was a management consultant at Andersen Consult. While there he worked with a large number of manufacturing businesses to implement lean tools and optimize transactional processes. In 1989, he then joined Danaher as a Project Manager in the Danaher Tool Group. Tom became President of Delta Consolidated Industries in 1995. After this role, he was named President of Hach Company, the world leader in analytical instrumentation for drinking water and wastewater application in 2001. 

Tom became a Group Executive and Corporate Officer with Danaher Corporation. In 2006, he was appointed Executive Vice President. He was responsible for the company’s Water Quality platform and Life Sciences & Diagnostic segment. Tom, in this role, increased Danaher’s Quality revenue by over $1.5 billion and led the company’s major acquisitions of Beckman Coulter and AB SCIEX. Throughout his tenure, Tom has also played a key role in developing and evolving the Danaher Business System, the company’s common operating philosophy. 

In September 2014, Tom was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Danaher Corporation.

Danaher Corporation began as DMG, Inc. as a real estate investment trust in 1969.  DMG changed its name to Diversified Mortgage Investors, Inc. in 1978 and then adopted the name Danaher in 1984. 

Danaher in the early 1990s composed of a group of discrete, cyclical businesses. Since then the company’s portfolio has transformed to become a more global, higher growth, more scientific and technological set of businesses. Today, Danaher is a global science and technology innovator committed to helping customers solve complex challenges and improving quality of life around the world. It has a globally diverse team of 66,000 associates. In 2014, the company generated $19.1 billion in revenue from five reporting segments: Environmental, Text & Measurement, Dental, Life Sciences & Diagnostics, and Industrial Technologies. 

Koji Nagai: Nomura Holdings Group CEO

Koji Nagai was born circa 1953. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Chuo University in 1981, he joined Nomura. Koji is a company man having spent his entire career at Nomura. 

During his career he built a strong reputation in sales both in the retail and institutional divisions. Koji rose through the ranks and eventually reached the position of COO and Deputy President of Nomura Securities, the domestic securities trading and investment banking unit of Nomura Holdings. 

Koji was promoted to President of Nomura Securities in April 2012, as part of a restructuring of Nomura Holdings with the purpose of reducing the CEO’s domestic role. He was still getting used to and familiarizing  himself with his new position when he was appointed Group CEO of Nomura Holdings in August 2012. His predecessor was forced to resign due to an insider’s trading scandal which was significant enough to rattle the Japanese financial industry. 

Koji’s appointment was a part of a huge shake up and change in direction within the Nomura leadership. 

John C. Lechleiter: Eli Lilly and Company CEO

John C. Lechleiter was born to John and Jeanne Lechleiter on August 17, 1952, in Louisville, Kentucky and is the eldest of nine children.  In 1974, John first took part in laboratory research in a summer research program at the University of Minnesota. 

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio) in 1975. John was awarded a National Science Foundation fellow and studied Organic Chemistry at Harvard University. He obtained his Master’s degree and PhD in 1980.

In 1979 he joined Lilly as a senior organic chemist in process research and development and in 1982 became head of that department.  John began serving as director of pharmaceutical product development for the Lilly Research Centre Limited in Windlesham, England in 1984. He later held positions in project management, regulatory affairs, product development, and pharma operation. John was appointed president and chief operating officer and joined the board of directors in 2005.

Since April 1, 2008, John has served as president and chief executive officer at Eli Lilly and Company. He was elected chairman of the board of directors in January 1, 2009. 

John is a member of the American Chemical Society and Business Roundtable. He serves on the board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), as chairman of the US-Japan Business Council and of United Way Worldwide, and on the boards of the Life Science Foundation and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. John also serves on the boards of Nike, Inc. and Ford Motor Company.

He has received Honorary Doctorates from Marian University in 2006, the University of Indianapolis in 2012, and the National University of Ireland also in 2012.  John was bestowed the inaugural Global Health Partner Award from Project HOPE in 2012. He was named in 2014, the August M. Watanabe Life Science Champion of the Year for his work in supporting the development of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.