William Downe: BMO Financial Group CEO

William Downe was born in 1952 in Montreal, Canada.  William earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto. He joined Bank of Montreal in 1983 and as he rose through the corporate ladder held various senior management positions in Canada and the U.S. 

In 1991, William was promoted to Vice-Chair of the Bank of Montreal. In 2001, he became Deputy Chair, BMO Financial Group and Chief Executive Officer, BMO Nesbitt Burns. William was appointed Chief Operating Officer of BMO Financial Group in 2006. On March 1, 2007 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of BMO Financial Group.

William is the only Canadian member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council of the Mayor of Beijing (IBLAC). He received the Rotman Distinguished Business Alumni Award from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management.

BMO Financial Group was established in 1817 as the Bank of Montreal. It is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America with total assets of $589 billion as of October 31, 2014. 

Timotheus Höttges: Deutsche Telekom CEO

Timotheus Höttges was born on September 18, 1962. Tim earned his degree in business administration at Cologne University, in Germany. He then worked for three years at management consulting firm, Mummert & Partner in Hamburg and later became a project manager.

Tim then joined the VIAG Group in Munich at the end of 1992. By 1997 he was a divisional manager. Later Tim became a member of the extended management board in charge of controlling, corporate planning and mergers and acquisitions. As project manager, he played an important part in the merger of VIAG AG and VEBA AG to form E.on AG, which came into being on September 27, 2000.

From 2000 until the end of 2004, Tim was Managing Director, Finance and Controlling, before eventually becoming Chairman of the Managing Board of T-Mobile Deutschland.  Starting 2005 until being appointed to the Group Board of Management, he led European operations as member of the Board of Management, T-Mobile International. Tim successfully executed a number of cost-cutting programs at T-Home and in the European mobile communications subsidiaries. Next he became responsible for the Group-wide Save for Service efficiency enhancement program.

Tim from 2006 to 2009 was a member of the Board of Management responsible for the T-Home unit. In this role, he led the fixed-network and broadband business, as well as integrated sales and service in Germany. During his watch, T-Home became the market leader in terms of new DSL customers and developed its Internet TV Service, Entertain, into a mass-market product while at the same time stabilizing its profitability.

He has been a member of the Group Board of Management responsible for Financing and Controlling beginning 2009 unit he was appointed CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG in January 2014.

The company that Tim leads is huge. Deutsche Telekom has around 143 million mobile customers, 31 million fixed-network lines, and over 17 million broadband lines.  The company is present in about 50 countries. It has around 230,000 employees worldwide and produced revenue of 60.1 billion Euros in fiscal year 2013. 

Stéphane Richard: Orange Chairman & CEO

French national, Stéphane Richard was born in 1961. He graduated from the highly regarded École national d’administration (ENA) in 1987. Stéphane also earned a degree from the École des hautes etudes commerciales (HEC) in Paris.

Between 1992 and 2003 he was Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Compagnie Générale des Eaux, the main French water supplier; Chief Executive of property corporation Compagnie Immobilére Phénix; and Chairman of CGIS (a major property corporation and service provider) which is now Nexity.

From 2003 to 2007, Stéphane was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Environment and Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Transport, two divisions of a service and utility transnational company. During the same period he also became a Director of France Télécom.  Stéphane was appointed Chief of Staff of the French Minister for the Economy, Industry, and Employment in 2007. He held the post until 2009.

He joined the Orange Group in September 2009. Stéphane was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Operations Officer on October 5, 2009. He became a corporate officer as Associate Chief Executive on January 1, 2010 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Orange Group on March 1, 2010. Stéphane has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since March 1, 2011. 

Greg C. Garland: Phillips 66 Chairman & CEO

Greg Garland earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1980. After graduating he began his career in Phillips as a project engineer for the Plastics Technical Center.  Greg later worked as a sales engineer for Phillips’ plastic resins, then business service manager for advanced materials, later as business development director, and olefins manager for chemicals.

He was the manager of the K-Resin® business unit starting 1992 until 1994. Greg was from 1995 to 1997 the general manager of natural gas liquids after serving as manager of planning and development and planning and technology.  In 1997 he assumed the role of general manager of Qatar/Middle East for Phillips. He was president and chief executive officer of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, which is now a joint venture between Phillips 66 and Chevron. Then in 2010 he joined ConocoPhillips as senior vice president, Exploration and Production, Americas.

Greg served as president of Phillips 66 from April 30, 2012 to May 30, 2014. He has been the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Phillips 66 since April 30, 2012.

He serves on the Board of Directors for DCP Midstream, the Board of Amgen, The Board of the National Petroleum Council, the Board of Executive Committee of the American Petroleum Institute, the Board and the Executive Committee of the Junior Achievement for Southeast Texas, the Board for the Greater Houston Partnership and as a member of the Engineering Advisory Board for Texas A&M University.

Phillips 66 has more than 130 years of history behind it. Today it is an expanding energy manufacturing and logistics company with high-performance Midstream, Chemicals, Refining and Marketing and Specialties business. This integrated portfolio enables Phillips 66 to capture opportunities in the changing energy landscape. The company is based in Houston, Texas. Phillips 66 has 13,500 employees. The company reported assets of $51 bill as of September 30, 2013. 

Gou Tai-ming: Hon Hai Precision Founder

Gou Tai-ming was born on October 8, 1950 in Banqiao Township, Taipei Country, Taiwan. His parents lived in Shanxi Province in mainland China before fleeing to Taiwan in 1949. After graduating from college Gou continued his work in a rubber factory, working at a grinding wheel, and medicine plant until 24 years of age.

In 1974 Gou Tai-ming who is also known as Terry Gou founded Hon Hai Precision in Taiwan with $7,500 in startup money and ten workers. The company made plastic parts for television sets in a rented shed in Tucheng, a suburb of Taipei. In 1980, a turning point came when he received an order from Atari to make connectors to the console joystick.

Today, Hon Hai Precision better known by its trade name Foxconn is the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer and a key supplier to Apple as well as HP, Sony and Nokia. It has factories in a number of countries, most are in mainland China, where it employs 1.2 million people and is its largest exporter.  Terry owns 13 percent of the public company and is a billionaire. Hon Hai Precision recently registered sales of $127 billion.

Masakazu Aoki: Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems President

Masakazu Aoki is the President of Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co. Ltd. He also serves as a Board of Director of the said company. In October 2014 he was appointed Vice President, Executive Officer, General Manager of Industrial Products Strategy Division at Hitachi Ltd.

If case you may be confused Hitachi Ltd is the bigger company that is world known. His appointment to the position of Vice President of the main company is an indication of his rise in Hitachi. This is not to say that his current position as President of Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems is not very important. In fact this is a company which was established in April 2002 with a capital stock of 10 billion yen.

As stated by Aoki, the company integrates functions for maintenance, service, engineering, marketing, research & development, design, and manufacturing, after being spun off from Hitachi, Ltd.  The company is engaged in a wide variety of businesses, including the motor business, which is over 100 years old, along with social/daily life infrastructure and other businesses involved in the industrial electrical equipment, such as factory automation/control systems, wind/water systems, pneumatic systems, power distribution, environmental systems, and labor-savings systems.  By integrating the company’s complete engineering ability, utilizing its technological capabilities accumulated over a long period of time, and employing know-how based on its history and business results, the company provides high value-added products and systems solutions that promptly reflect customer needs.

Aoki further stated that the company is making efforts toward state-of-the-art research & development and commercialization in areas such as IT and telecommunications, and is incorporating technologies and expertise gained in this area into system businesses concerning monitoring and management/positioning information. The company is also actively promoting business development in overseas markets, such as in China, other Asian countries, Europe, and the U.S.

Furthermore, as stated by Aoki the company’s business concept is embodied in the phrase “Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems, contributing to the environmental protection and energy conservation”. 

Aoki is one business executive on the rise, while he is already contributing significantly given his current position he may one day head Hitachi Ltd and make even bigger contributions.

Francis Blake: Home Depot Chairman

Francis Blake was born on July 30, 1949 in Boston, Massachusetts.  Francis graduated from Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts in 1967. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1971 at Harvard University.  In 1976 he obtained a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School.

Francis was a legislative assistant to the joint committee on Social Welfare of the Massachusetts legislature from 1971-1973.  He was admitted to the District of Columbia bar in 1978. Francis served as a law clerk to Judge Wilfred Feinberg and then to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven. He also served as general counsel to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), deputy counsel to Vice President George H.W. Bush.

Francis was the general counsel for General Electric from 1991-1995. He then served as Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and managed the DOE’s annual $19 billion budget.

Francis joined Home Depot in 2002 as executive vice president for Business Development and Corporate Operations and vice chairman of the board of directors.  He became the chairman and CEO after his predecessor Robert Nardelli resigned on January 2007.  Francis is credited in turning around Home Depot’s performance by focusing on improving employee morale and giving better customer service.

A new president and CEO was appointed on November 2014 with Francis remaining as chairman. 

Dr. Zhu Xiaohuang: Former President of China CITIC Bank

Dr. Zhu Xiaohuang graduated from Hubei Finance and Economics College with a Bachelor’s degree in infrastructure management and credit in 1982.  Dr. Zhu earned an Associate Degree in Economic Law from Peking University in 1985.   He obtained a doctoral degree in world economics from Zhongshang University in December 2006.

Dr. Zhu became the President of China CITIC Bank Corporation on August 29, 2012.  He is regarded as an experienced banker having spent 30 years with China Construction Bank. Before being appointed President he was an Executive Vice President at China Construction Bank Corporation from June 2008 to August 22, 2012.

Dr. Zhu served as Chief Risk Officer of China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) from April 2006 to February 2011.  He has served as Vice President of CCB since June 14, 2006. Dr. Zhu served as an Executive Director of CCB from July 24, 2010 to August 22, 2012. He served as General Manager of the corporate banking business department of CCB from October 2004 to March 2006. Dr. Zhu was the president of Guangdong branch from May 2000 to October 2004.

He served consecutively as deputy director of administrative office, deputy director of head office’s credit department, deputy general manager of credit management department, vice president of Liaoning Branch, and general manager of banking department from September 1993 to May 2000.

In May 2014 China CITIC Bank Corporation announced that Dr. Zhu resigned from his position as President of the bank due to adjustment of his position. He now serves as Vice President of ITIC Limited.

China CITIC Bank was formerly known as CITIC Industrial Bank having changed to its present name in August 2005. It is the seventh largest bank in China in terms of total assets. The bank was established in 1987. It operates in around 130 countries but also maintains a strong presence in the mainland banking scene.  China CITIC Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC).

Jose Ignacio Sanchez Galan: Iberdrola Chairman & CEO

Jose Ignacio Sanchez Galan was born in 1950 in Salamanca, Spain. Jose moved to Madrid where he studied at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenierίa (ICAI) at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas earning a degree in electro-mechanical industrial engineering.

 Aside from this Jose also earned a degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade from the Instituto Católico de Administración y Dirección de Empresas (ICADE) at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid) and received a degree in General Business Administration and Foreign Trade from the Escuela de Organización Industrial (EOI) of Madrid. Jose speaks Spanish, French, Italian, and English.

In 1972, Jose started his professional career at Sociedad Españal de Acumulador Tudor, where from various executive positions he managed the company’s international expansion. He managed Industria de Turbopropulsores (ITP) in the early 1990s and let a successful restructuring.  Jose was the chairman, from 1993 to 1995 of Eurojet, the European consortium which developed and manufactured Eurojet engines used by the Eurofigher.

In 2001 he was appointed as executive vice-president and CEO of Iberdrola and in 2006 appointed executive chairman of the company. Under his leadership Iberdrola has grown to become one of the world’s largest electricity company and a global leader in wind energy.