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. 

Thomas Wilson: Allstate Chairman & CEO

Thomas Wilson was born in 1958 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He also holds a Masters degree in management from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellog Graduate School of Management. 

Thomas has worked for a number of companies before joining Allstate. He held various financial positions at Amoco Corporation where he worked form 1980 to 1986.  Thomas from 1986 to 1993 was managing director of mergers and acquisitions at Dean Witter Reynolds. He worked for Sears, Roebuck, and Company, where he was vice president of strategy and analysis. Thomas was responsible for strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, and special projects for the corporation.

He joined Allstate in 1995. Among his positions in his climb up the corporate ladder include servings as Allstate’s chief financial offer. Thomas was formerly chairman and president of Allstate Financial, where he led expansion of financial retirement services. 

He became CEO  of The Allstate Corporation on January 1, 2007, and the Chairman on April 30, 2008.

Inge Thulin: 3M Chairman & CEO

Inge Thulin, born in Sweden has risen through the ranks of an American multinational and now head this company.

Inge Thulin was born on November 9, 1953, in Malmo, Sweden. Inge studied Economics and Marketing at the School of Business, Economics and Law and related training at IHM Business School. 

He joined 3M in 1979 working in sales and marketing. He rose through the ranks holding positions of wider responsibilities. Thulin was promoted to vice president for the entire 3M in May 1, 2011, and was responsible for all the Group’s six business areas and international markets. He was able to grow sales to $20 billion which is two-thirds of the total group turnover. 

Inge’s predecessor Sir George W. Buckley, PhD eventually retired and Inge replaced him and became president and CEO on February 24, 2012. The title of chairman would later be added. 

Today around 64 percent of 3M’s revenue comes from outside the US and 60 percent of its employees work beyond US borders. 

Inge broke tradition in 2014 when he held 3M’s annual meeting outside of Minnesota for the first time, in Austin, Texas. He also surprised Wall Street with news that 3M could pursue multibillion-dollar acquisitions for the first time. Under Inge’s leadership the stock of 3M rose from $123 to $162 a share this year and breached the $100 billion market cap for the first time. This year, construction is well underway for the company’s new $150 million R&D Center on its Maplewood campus.

3M is a diversified technology company serving customers and communities with innovative products and services. The company operates its business through six segments: Industrial and Transportation, Health Care, Consumer and Office, Safety, Security and Protection Services, Display and Graphics and Electro and Communications.

Inge is proof of the quality of management and leadership skills of Swedish executives becoming president of a major publicly traded American conglomerate and guiding the company on a prosperous path.