Dr. Rüdiger Grube: Transportation Expertise

Dr. Rüdiger Grube was born in Hamburg, Germany in August 2, 1951. His training and schooling has been very much focused in the world of transportation. Grube finished his commercial and technical training in metal aircraft construction and then earned a degree in automotive engineering and aircraft construction from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. He taught at the University of Hamburg and later gained his doctorate in the areas of industrial science and polytechnology at the Universities of Hamburg and Kasselin 1986.  Grube then joined a company that would later become Daimler-Benz Aerospace.

Grube went on to become the Chairman and CEO of Duetsche Bahn AG and DB Mobility Logistics AG in May 2009. He was elected to these positions after having served in a number of executive, supervisory and administrative board positions with Daimler, EADS, MTU Friedrichshafen, Hyundai Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

Deutsche Bahn Group provides global mobility and logistical services operating in more than 130 countries all over the world. It has around 300,000 employees with over half in Germany. The firm is involved in rail, road, ocean and air traffic networks.  DB Group registered revenues of around €39.3 billion in 2012.

Given his expertise in transportation and by extension logistics, Grube has been able to lead GB Group with a steady and experienced hand.

Martin Senn: Zurich Insurance Group CEO

Martin Senn was born in 1957 and is a Swiss citizen. He earned a Commercial and Banking diploma from the Business School in Basel, Switzerland. Martin completed an International Executive Program at INSEAD in Fontainebleau and also finished an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

 A good portion of his career had been spent in the banking industry. Martin worked for the former Swiss Bank Corporation from 1976 to 1994. Among the key positions he had held in the company included treasurer in Hong Kong and regional treasurer for Asia and the Pacific region in Singapore. Martin later headed the firm’s Tokyo office.

He then joined another banking organization, Credit Suisse in 1994. His executive roles in the company included being treasurer for the Head Office and Europe and chairman of Credit Suisse Group, Japan. A major promotion came in 2001 when Martin became a member of the Credit Suisse Banking executive board and was made head of its Trading and Investment Services Division.

From banking, Martin joined the insurance industry when he joined Swiss Life Group. From 2003 to 2006 he served as a member of the corporate executive board and as chief investment officer. This change in industry led to greener pastures when Martin joined Zurich Insurance Group as Chief Investment Officer and also serving on the Group Executive Committee. His good performance eventually landed him the top job. Martin became the CEO of Zurich Insurance Group in January 1, 2010.

Popularly known as Zurich, this insurance company is the largest insurer in Switzerland and is one of the largest companies in the world. Its scope of operation is global doing business in 170 countries and territories and employing around 60,000 people. The firm is composed of three business divisions namely, General Insurance, Global Life and Farmers.  Revenue for 2012 hit $70.414 billion.

With hands on executive experience in both the banking and insurance industries, it’s no surprise that the board of Zurich chose Martin to head this insurance giant which is over 140 years old.

 

Scott Davis: UPS Top Honcho

The path to the top post can take different paths. Some individuals work for only one company and work their way to the top. Others are hired from other companies. For Scott Davis the company he worked for was bought by another larger firm which he eventually headed.

Scott was born in 1952 in Medford, Oregon. He is a certified public accountant having earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Portland State University. Scott graduated in 1974 and then worked for the accounting firm Arthur Andersen.

He worked for Oregon aviation technology company II Morrow where he served as chief financial officer and then CEO. United Parcel Service (UPS) acquired the company in 1986 which was also the formal entry of Scott into UPS.

A good leader always comes through and for Scott the acquisition only made him an invaluable asset to UPS. He held a number of top positions in UPS and joined the Management Committee in 2001. He finally became the head of one of the largest publicly-traded logistics companies in the world in 2008.

As chairman and CEO Scott has taken UPS to new heights and has over saw the rapid growth in international operations and supply chain and freight.

Kevin Craffey: Carpentry and General Contractor Skills and an Entrepreneurial Spirit

In 1988, only a few years after earning his journeyman certification in carpentry, Kevin Craffey founded his first company, K&J Interiors, Inc. The Plymouth, Massachusetts, carpentry subcontracting firm has earned a reputation as one of the state’s finest, growing over the years to include as many as 350 union workers, a fitting outcome, as Kevin Craffey’s father and grandfather both served as presidents of carpentry unions. K&J Interiors’ early success led to several other companies where the founder has taken the helm as owner and president. One company, Mountain View Development, based in Whitefield, New Hampshire, he owned and operated for six years before selling it profitably to Great American Corporation.

Two years after founding K&J Interiors, the talented carpenter went into development with KJ Realty Trust Corporation/Court Street Trust Corporation, which develops residential and commercial projects in Plymouth, Avon, and Hanover, Massachusetts. Since 1995, the journeyman carpenter and entrepreneur has led Craffey & Co Builders Inc. of Plymouth as owner, president, and chief financial officer. At the general contracting business, which has completed major retail projects in nearly every state, the company’s namesake directs all aspects of business operations.

A third generation Bostonian, Kevin Craffey has followed his entrepreneurial spirit while honing his carpentry and general contracting skills. His companies have completed residential, retail, commercial, and institutional projects in such areas as drywall, framing, and finish carpentry as well as general construction, with clients including shopping malls, big-box stores, historic buildings, and a resort hotel. He completed his education and training at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Massachusetts; The Associated General Contractors in Boston; and Massachusetts Carpenters Training Center. Outside of his professional pursuits, the Massachusetts entrepreneur enjoys participating in outdoor activities, including biking, golfing, boating and swimming.

Daniel Hajj Aboumrad: Outstanding Telco CEO

We’ve heard about Jack Welch of GE and so many other outstanding CEOs. Due to a popular global media most of the good CEOs we have heard about come from the U.S. or Europe. Yet there are equally impressive CEOs out there who come from other parts of the world. One of the standouts is Daniel Hajj Aboumrad from Mexico. He’s name me not ring a bell to many but he’s company has scores of clients and yes it has to do with ringing, the ringing of a mobile phone.

Daniel was born in 1966 and has an MBA from the Universidad Anáhuac. He worked in top positions in the Carso Group from 1987 to 1998. In 1997 he became the CEO of Telcel and became the CEO of América Móvil in 2000.

América Móvil is the fourth largest mobile network operator in term of equity subscribers in the world. It is also one of the largest companies in the world and has headquarters in Mexico City. Telcel is a subsidiary of América Móvil and is the largest mobile operator in Mexico.
Daniel masterminded the firm’s license acquisitions and helped expand into South America creating today the world’s fourth largest mobile operator. He has focused underserved countries in Latin America with low penetration rates and high potential and made heavy investments to provide reliable services.

Competitions in some Latin American countries were bought out. Daniel also looked to lower income customers as his main target. He offered subsidized handsets and bought small startups where the company had no presence. Over 170 million new subscribers were brought in.

The financial market certainly approve of his and the company’s performance. In 2012 América Móvil sold $ 2 billion bonds in 10- and 30-year maturities. The bonds were given provisional ratings of A2 from Moody’s Investors Service, A-minus from Standard & Poor, and A from Fitch Ratings. This reflected some of the highest ratings on a pure corporate bond in Latin America.

América Móvil also has subsidiaries in the U.S. and Europe. The company with revenues of $59.3 billion in 2012 continues to grow and leading the charge is Daniel Hajj Aboumrad.

Grant O’Brien: Deep Woolworths Knowledge

Grant O’Brien is the current CEO of Woolworths the Australian supermarket giant.  He was appointed Managing Director and CEO effective October 1, 2011. While some companies hire outside talent for the top job Grant is an inside company man having a career with Woolworths that spans more than 25 years.

He started as an accountant in Purity Supermarkets in Tasmania, a division of Woolworths Limited. Other positions he has held included Marketing and Merchandising Manager of Purity, Director New Business Development, Chief Operating Officer Australian Food and Petrol, and Deputy Chief Executive Officer and CEO Designate.

Most companies would like to have their CEOs with deep knowledge and experience with regards to the company. Possessing this kind of information means the CEO cam make very informed decisions. Grant has this kind of knowledge because even when he wasn’t hired as an account in Tasmania he had already worked in the company before as a night filler stacking shelves at the Purity supermarkets, while studying accountancy in 1986.

Grant is one individual who really started from the bottom and worked his way to the top gaining knowledge and deep insight about Woolworths along the way.

Stephen Elop: Former Nokia CEO

Stephen Elop was born on December 31, 1963, in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. Stephen graduated second in his class in 1986 with a degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. A significant involvement he had in his college days was helping to lay out 22 kilometers of Ethernet cable around campus to establish one of the first Internet networks in Canada.

Through the course of his professional career he held significant positions such as director of consulting for Lotus Development Corporation, CIO for Boston Chicken, CEO for Macromedia, and COO of Juniper Networks.  Stephen worked for Microsoft from January 2008 to September 2010 as head of the Business Division, responsible for the Microsoft Office and Microsoft Dynamics. 

In September 2010 Nokia announced that Stephen would become its CEO.  One of the significance of this event was he would become the first non-Finnish director in Nokia’s history. Nokia was not in good shape and was looking for a CEO to shake things up and lead the company back to its glory days.

The most defining move Stephen made was to embrace the Windows Phone of Microsoft. In-house mobile operating systems would be phased out. This was designed to get a better share of the smartphone market.  Instead of using Android Stephen wanted to differentiate Nokia by using Windows.

Stephen also oversaw the plan to lay off around 11,000 employees in 2011. Another 10,000 was announced for layoff in June 2012. Several facilities was also due for closure. In May 2013 shareholders were pushing Stephen for results.  Figures showed that there wasn’t any significant improvement in sales of smartphones that would ensure the company’s future. In fact some were of the opinion that Nokia had already lost the smartphone race to Samsung and Apple.

It was announced on September 3, 2013 that Microsoft would buy Nokia’s mobile phone and devices business for $7.2 billion. Stephen would step down as Nokia’s CEO and become vice president of the Devices and Services business unit of Microsoft.

Since Stephen’s watch, stock value of Nokia had dropped by 85% as of June 2013. Clearly Stephen wasn’t the CEO savior Nokia was looking for. In the end though selling the mobile unit to Microsoft which has financial muscle may have been the best decision made.