The founder of the online retail giant Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, just topped the list of the world’s top 100 best-performing CEOs, revealed by the new rankings in the November issue of Harvard Business Review.
The best chief executives aren’t those who launch their company into stardom over a night, neither are the ones who manage to keep the business afloat for decades. The best CEO is the one who delivers long-term value to their shareholders and this year’s top performer is Jeff Bezos, the founder, chairman and CEO of the world’s largest online retailer. The major metrics, examined for the ranking were the industry-adjusted shareholder returns, the country-adjusted shareholder returns, as well as the increase in market capitalization over a chief executive’s entire tenure.
HBR looked at CEOs of the S & P Global 1200, who assumed their positions between 1995 and April 30, 2012. Overall, there were 832 current CEOs in 30 countries around the world. Since 1996, Jeff Bezos has increased country-adjusted returns to Amazon shareholders by the massive 15,189%, while the returns adjusted by country are 14,917%. And during his tenure, Amazon’s value increased by $140 billion.
World’s Top 10 Best Performing CEOs in 2014
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon
- John Martin, Gilead Sciences
- John Chambers, Cisco Systems
- David Pyott, Allergan
- David Simon, Simon Property Group
- Lars Rebien Sørensen, Novo Nordisk
- Hugh Grant, Monsanto
- J. Michael Pearson, Valeant Pharmaceuticals
- Mark Donegan, Precision Castparts
- William Doyle, PotashCorp
It’s evident from the ranking that American CEOs are generally performing better, but they are also earning more. Compensation analysis firm Equilar says the median pay for US CEOs on the list is $12.1 million, while non-US CEOs earn $6.4 million. The highest-paid CEO in the ranking is Walt Disney’s Robert Iger with a total compensation of $34.3 million. The highest-ranked woman is Ventas’ CEO Debra Cafaro, who comes at the 27th position, while the only other woman in top 100 is Carol Meyrowitz, CEO of TJX at No.51.
