Mitsuomi Koizumi: Japan Tobacco CEO

Mitsuomi Koizumi was born on March 21, 1951. He joined what was then Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation in April 1981. Twenty years later Mitsuomi becomes Vice President of the Corporate Planning Division.  Two years afterwards on June 2003 he gets another promotion and is named Senior Vice President, and Head of Human Resources and Labor Relations Group. 

After just one year on June 2004 he becomes Senior Vice President, and Vice President of Tobacco Business Planning Division, Tobacco Business Headquarters. After two years he take another step up the corporate ladder becoming Executive Vice President, and Vice President of Tobacco Business Planning Division, Tobacco Business Headquarters. 

After more promotions of increasing importance and responsibilities, on June 2012, Mitsuomi is appointed President, Chief Executive Officer and Representative Director of Japan Tobacco. 

With operations in more than 70 countries, the JT (Japan Tobacco) Group is a leading international tobacco company. Its products are sold in more than 120 countries and its well-known international brands include Winston, Camel and MEVIUS. 

The JT Group is also active in pharmaceuticals and processed food businesses. 

Gavin Patterson: BT CEO

British Gavin Patterson was born on September 6, 1967, in Altrincham, Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. He holds a degree in chemical engineering from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. 

While a chemical engineer by training Gavin excelled in marketing in the corporate world. He spent nine years with  Procter and Gamble and became European Marketing Director for the Patene line of hair products. He then joined cable company Telewest in 2000, managing their television services. 

Gavin then joined BT in 2004 as the Managing Director of the company’s consumer division. He launched BT Vision which provided on-demand TV and subsequently was responsible for their broadband offerings like the optical fiber service, BT Infinity. 

Coming into BT, Gavin was a contrast in personality. BT had a conservative culture while he was known for his flamboyant appearance of romantic black hair and open shirt collars which reported had up to three open buttons. His management style is a mix of relaxed, stylish marketing with aggressive cost-cutting. 

Gavin was appointed Chief Executive, BT Retail in May 2008 and joined the BT Group plc board in June 2008. He also spearheaded the company’s involvement inn the evolution of digital TV services. This includes being a founder partner in YouView and the creation of BT Sport which launched in August 2013. 

In September 2013, Gavin was appointed Chief Executive Officer of BT Group PLC. 

He is a non-executive Director of British Airways and a Trustee of  The British Museum. Gavin was on the advisory board of the Cambridge Judge Business School from 2010 to 2013 and was President of the Advertising Association from 2011 to 2014. 

BT serves the needs of customers in the United Kingdom and in more than 170  countries around the world, its is one of the world’s leading communications services companies. The firm’s main activities are the provision of fixed-line services, broadband, mobile and TV products and services as well as networked IT services. 

Robert Niblock: Lowe’s Chairman And CEO

Robert Niblock earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and is a Certified Public Accountant. Robert had a nine-year career with accounting firm Ernst & Young before he joined Lowe’s. 

Robert joined Lowe’s in 1993. He served as Vice President & Treasurer from 1997 to 1998, Senior Vice President of Finance from 1999 to 2000, Chief Financial Officer from 2000 to 2003, and was Executive Vice President from 2001 to 2003. Robert served as President from 2003 to 2006, and joined the board of director when he was named Chairman and CEO-elect in 2004. Since January 2005 he has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. 

Lowe’s was founded in 1946. It has been trading on the New York Stock Exchange (LOW) since 1961. The company has grown from a small hardware store to a home improvement company providing customers inspiration and support whenever and wherever they shop. 

The company operates 1,840 home improvement and hardware stores throughout North America, including over 70 Orchard Supply Hardware stores. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, company revenues totaled $56.2 billion in 2014. 

Bruce Flatt: Brookfield Asset Management CEO

Bruce Flatt earned a business degree from the University of Manitoba in Canada. Bruce was trained as an accountant at Clarkson, Gordon and Company, which is now part of Ernst & Young. He joined Brookfield in 1990 and held various leadership roles as he climbed the corporate ladder. From 1995 to April 2000 he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Brookfield Properties Corporation. Then from April 2000 to February 2002 he was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Brookfield Properties Corporation. 

Bruce finally got the top post on February 2002 when he became the Chief Executive Officer at Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. Since April 2001 he has been a Director of the company and its Senior Managing Partner since 2002. 

In relation to his position he has been the Chairman and Director of General Growth Properties Inc., since November 2010. Bruce also serves as the Chairman of Carma Corp. He served as the Chairman of Brookfield Residential Properties, Inc. from October 2002 to May 2007. Bruce served as Director of Brookfield Residential Properties Inc from October 2002 to August 11, 2010.

The company that Bruce leads is over a hundred years old. Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. is an asset management company based in Canada that manages a worldwide portfolio with total assets under management of over $200 billion. This is invested on behalf of clients and the firm concentrates its assets in property, renewable energy, infrastructure and private equity.

Interestingly enough the company which was founded in 1899 was actually not focused on Canada but was a builder and operator of electricity and transport infrastructure in Brazil. In fact the company’s former name “Brascan” reflected its history (“Brasil" + “Canada”).

As stated by Brookfield their business model is simple: utilize its global reach to identify and acquire high quality real assets at favorable valuations, finance them on  a long-term, low-risk basis, and enhance cashflows and values of these assets through its leading operating platforms to earn reliable, attractive long-term total returns for the benefit of its partners and Brookfield. 

Mark Bartolini: Aetna CEO

Mark Bartolini was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1956. He held various jobs while he was in high school and college. This included assembly work at a Ford Motor Company plant and a number of caregiver roles in health care delivery. 

He earned a bachelor’s of arts from Wayne State University and holds and MBA from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. 

Before he joined Aetna, Mark held executive positions at Cigna, NYLCare Health Plans, and SelectCare, Inc., where he served as president and CEO. He joined Aetna as head of its Speciality Products in 2003. Marked served as president from July 2007 to December 2014, and was responsible for all of Aetna’s businesses and operations across the firm’s broad range of health care products and related services — including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, as well as medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. 

Mark became CEO in November 29, 2010, and Chairman on April 8, 2011. Aetna is a diversified health care benefits company with around $58 billion total revenue in 2014. 

Gerald Hassell: Bank Of New York Mellon CEO

Gerald Hassell earned a BA in economics from Duke University and an MBA in finance from the New York University Stern School of Business. Gerald is a company man, having spent his entire career at  Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. 

He started out in The Bank of New York’s management development program. In the course of his career and rise through the ranks he has had direct management responsibility for the firm’s wide range of investment businesses, including assets servicing and issuer, broker-dealer, treasury and clearing services, as well as operations and technology. 

In 1994, Gerald was named to The Bank of New York’s executive committee. He was appointed president and elected to its Board of Directors in  1998. Gerald was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BYN Mellon in 2011. 

Gerald is on the Board of Directors of Comsat Corporation and the Board of Trustees of Duke University. He is also on the Board of Visitors of Columbia University Medical Center and the boards of the New York Philharmonic, the Economic Club of New York ad the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Gerald is also a member of the Financial Services Forum. 

BYN Mellon is a global investments company helping institutions, corporations and individual investors manage and service their financial assets through the investment cycle. The firm delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. BYN Mellon acts as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. 

BYN Mellon as of March 31, 2015, had $28.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.7 trillion assets under management. The firm ended the first quarter of 2015 with total assets of $399.1 billion and a market capitalization of $45.1 billion. The company has more than 50,000 employees worldwide and has consistently been ranked among America’s Most Admired Companies, as compiled by Fortune magazine.   

Rune Bjerke: DNB CEO

Norwegian Rune Bjerke was born on June 17, 1960. Rune attended the University of Oslo studying economics. He went on to earn a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. 

He became the city commissioner of finance in the city cabinet of Oslo in 1992. Rune held this position until 1995. He has also been an advisor in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, director at Scancem and CEO of Hafslund. 

In 2007, Rune became the CEO of DNB and still holds the position. DNB is the largest financial services group in Norway and one of the largest in the Nordic region in terms of market capitalization.  DNB offers a full array of financial services, including loans, savings, advisory services,  insurance and pension products for retail and corporate clients. 

The Group’s bank branches in Norway, in-store postal and banking outlets, Post office counters, Internet banking, mobile services and international offices ensure that they are present where their customers are.

DNB is one of the world’s leading shipping banks and has a strong position in the energy sector, and the fisheries and seafood industry. 

Jean-Pascal Tricoire: Schneider Electric CEO

Jean-Pascal Tricoire grew up in rural France in the 1970s. He took up engineering at Angers, and later earned an MBA from what is now EMLyon. What is interesting about Jean is he would eventually lead a multibillion multinational company but did not go through one of the grandes école courses, the traditional programs of France’s elite executives. 

He began his career at Alcatel, the telecommunications firm in 1985. Then Jean joined Schlumberger, the management consultancy firm before moving on to construction firm, St. Gobain. Then he joined electric company Merlin Gerin, which was later acquired by Schneider Electric. Starting 1988, Jean spent most of his time working abroad at Schneider’s international operations. He spent five years in Italy, five years in China, and a year in South Africa. 

Upon returning to France in 1999, he was named as head of the company’s global strategic accounts and of the Schneider 2000+ programs. Jean between January 2002 and 2003 was the executive president of the Schneider’s international division. In October 2003 he was promoted to COO. Jean was named CEO and Chairman of the Board in May 2006. 

Coming from a rural background, Jean loves to travel to see different places. While his job allows him to travel he believes that he only sees 20 percent of the country while on the job. To know more about the other 80 percent one has to go out of his way to see the country by going around on a personal trip. 

In line with his interest of seeing other places, Jean is also leading Schneider, one of Europe’s largest engineering groups, to do more business outside of France, and outside of Europe. More emphasis has been placed on emerging markets. In fact Jean relocated to Hong Kong in 2011, to emphasize the point that they had to do business in other parts of the world. In the process he became the first CEO of a major publicly listed French company to move out of France.