The Best-Performing CEOs in The World

A lot of controversy about CEO performance and control arises from the different methods and time frames used to asses chief executives. In order to bring rigor to this issue, the authors created the first global list of CEO performance based on objective long-term stock market metrics. Their analysis of 2000 CEOs worldwide reveals that the top 50 performers delivered a total shareholder return of 997% during their time in office; yet, our list overlaps very little with listings of most-admired or highest paid CEOs. While the authors find that the circumstances CEOs inherit impact significantly their results, chief executives do have significant influence over the destiny of their companies. Better, longer-term measures are needed to assess leaders and to inform CEO searches and succession planning.