Jay Fishman: The Travelers Companies CEO

Jay Fishman was born on November 4, 1952, in the Bronx, New York. His father owned a small printing company and worked long hours so that Jay could go to private school Barnard School for the Boys. Hard work has been highly valued by the family. Jay’s grandmother who came from Latvia reportedly went to the Lower East Side of Manhattan at age 13 to work as a seamstress and send money back to Latvia so the family could later join her. 

Jay did not disappoint he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. He later earned a Master’s degree in Accounting from the Wharton School of Business at the same university. He worked as an accountant at American Can Co. Jay moved to the firm’s acquisition unit which led him to a lucrative career direction. 

He later worked for merchant bank Shearson Lehman, then with Primerica. In 1992 Premerica acquired a significant part of Travelers and Jay and fellow by the name of Robert Lipp were sent to the company to troubleshoot. Premerica would later acquire all of Travelers and Jay was tasked to lead the firm in 1998. 

In 2000 the head of CitiGroup (which Travelers was then a part of) named Jay and Chuck Prince as co-chief operating Officers of Citi, with one of them one day expected to head CitiGroup.  Jay later moved out of Citi citing among other factors that there would be others more fit and qualified to run the financial behemoth. He instead became the head of troubled insurance company St. Paul Cos. With his team Jay was able to turnaround the company.  Travelers was spun off from Citi in 2004 and in April 2004 Jay led the acquisition of Travelers in an $18 billion, all stock deal. It wasn’t easy start for the new combined company which involved laying off 10 percent of the workforce equaling to 3,000 jobs. 

Today the insurance company that Jay heads is known as The Travelers Companies, is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and generated around $27 billion in revenues in 2014. 

Yasuhiro Sato: Mizuho Financial Group CEO

Yasuhiro Sato was born in April 1952 and earned a degree in economics from Tokyo University in 1976. After graduating, Yasuhiro began his career at the Industrial Bank of Japan. He continued working for the company which eventually combined with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd and Fuji Bank Ltd in 2000 to form Mizuho.

Yasuhiro gained international banking experience working in New York in the late 1980s building close ties with global financial institutions. Rising through the ranks he became executive officer of the international banking unit of Mizuho Corporate Bank in March 2003.  Yashiro was appointed Mizuho Corporate Bank’s managing executive officer in April 2004.

He became the CEO of Mizuho Corporate Bank in April 2009. In this capacity he announced plans to enter emerging markets in the ASEAN region.  In May 2011 Yasuhiro became the CEO of Mizuho Financial Group.  As a sign that times were going to be tough he took a 30 percent salary cut for his first three months as CEO.  He also announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs in November.

Making tough decisions, Yasuhiro has been working hard to streamline Mizuho Financial Group and make the most of its huge resources.

                                                                                               

Kazuo Hirai: Sony’s Mr. Fix It

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Living To Expectations: Philippe Dauman

When you’re a bright kid there are expectations placed on your shoulders.  Others are reminded constantly of what is expected of them by parents or friends others are simply left alone. Whatever is the case if you do score very high on tests such as the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), then many see you as having a very bright future.

Philippe Dauman scored 1600 on his SAT test which he took at age 13. It was then the highest possible score.  He did not disappoint. The son of a photographer, he was born on January 3, 1954 and grew up in New York City.  Dauman went to the best schools getting his undergraduate degree at Yale University and a law degree at Columbia University of Law in 1978.

He then worked for law firm Shearman & Sterling and was assigned in Paris for two years before returning to New York.  Dauman then worked under the law firm’s corporate group. It was while working there that he came into a professional association which would take his career to the media and entertainment world.

He handled the account of a client named Sumner Redstone. This led to an advisory role during the hostile takeover of Viacom by Redstone in 1987.  Dauman has since been known as having a personal closeness or even trust with Redstone.  After the takeover he got a board of director seat at Viacom.  He became senior vice president and general counsel six years later. On September 2006 Dauman reached the top position as President and CEO of Viacom.  Among other positions he was also a director at CBS Corporation (also Redstone owned) until September 2006.

Viacom is no ordinary mass media outlet. It reaches a very large audience through its many companies. It is global in scope with media networks like BET, MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon.  One of its companies is film giant Paramount Pictures.  Through Nickelodeon and other activities it has a strong focus on children’s TV programs.

Dauman and Viacom started the Get Schooled education initiative in 2009 with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Its aim is to raise awareness of America’s public school crisis. Dauman is a member or board of director of a number of prestigious organizations like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

This is a man who is living to expectations.