The CEO Brand and Corporate Success

Bolaji Okusaga

1. Creating a Dual Personality

• The Corporate and the Individual

Introduction

REALITY• In the normal context, a company as

corporate citizen should have a life, an essence and a personality

• This personality distinguishes the Company from other companies which offer similar products or service.

PRACTICE• However, most companies as

corporate citizens take the definition of their life, character and personality from individuals who are either founders or operators.

• Indeed, companies are defined by the character and personalities of their founders or those who run them.

Defining the Interplay Between the Corporate and CEO Personality

The Corporate Personality

Culture

The CEO PersonalityGovernance

The CEO as the Mind of the Organization

The values, the philosophies and the characters of these individuals usually rub-off on these entities and determine

their success or failures.

Hence, it is difficult to think about Apple without thinking of Steve Jobs, or Microsoft without Bill Gates or Virgin without

Richard Branson or South-West Airlines without Herb Kelleher or General Electric without Jack Welch.

The CEO

Values Philosophy Character

Influence

The CEO and the Structure of Corporate Thought

The CEO

Corporate Philosophy, Corporate Culture, Values,

Character

A CEO that knows his onion will lead the charge because there is no change without character

• The personality of the CEO

A change agent A deal maker

A quiet and conservative

builder

A hardline technocrat

A people person

The CEO’s character has an impact on the direction of the company he / she runs. Since the buck stops on the CEOs table, the direction of the enterprise is certain to be shaped by his/her temperament.

How the CEO Character Shapes the Corporate View

Apple Under Steve Jobs (Republican Views)• Company does not do free or

Open Source Applications• The IOS is closed and does not

interact with other Applications

Google Under Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Democratic Views)• Company does free and Open

Source Application• Android is open and cheap to

access

The CEO as the Turn-around Master

• Taking over from Lucian Smith, rekindled the Coke appeal by introducing far reaching changes

• The high point of his era at Coke was the introduction of the diet brands and Coke Classic

• A CUBAN IMMIGRANT

Roberto Goizueta

• He took over from John Akers and brought back IBM from the brink

• He prioritized the IT business and grew earnings in that division by over 50%

• He also embraced the internet and drove an innovative culture at IBM

Lou Gerstner

• Taking over from Reg Jones, he re-ordered the priority of GE

• Moving GE out of White Goods business having lost cost advantage to Asian Companies

• He prioritized turbines, healthcare and finance, making GE America’s most loved company

Jack Welch

COCA-COLA IBM GE

Where are the Women

Carly Fiona• Under her, HP weathered

the storm of the dot-com bubble, acquiring Compaq and becoming one of the strongest players in the Computer hardware market.

Indra Nooyi• According to BusinessWeek

since she started as CFO in 2000, the company's annual revenues have risen 72%, while net profit more than doubled, to $5.6 billion in 2006

Oprah Winfrey• Credited with creating a

more intimate confessional form of media communication, she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue

The Entrepreneur and the Empire Builder

Sam WaltonRedefined retail business

Creating the Walmart phenmenon – a Cocktail of

Retail, Vending and Financial Services

Steve JobsRedefined the way we work,

consume information and listen to music, bridging the

divide between arts and science

Aliko DangoteMoved from Haulage, to Commodities Trading , to

Production, building a diversified Conglomerate

and becoming Africa’s richest Man

The Nigerian ExampleJim Ovia• Redefined the concept of Banking in Nigeria by introducing On-Line-Real-Time

Banking and Convenience Banking before it became the minimum standard of entry thereby beating Competitors like Guaranty Trust and Diamond Bank.

Fola Adeola and Tayo Adenirokun• Pursued a value-added strategy that most bankers usually avoid in order to save cost

and created a differentiated value proposition• Built banking halls with grandiloquent facades and boutique interior designs which

offered comfort and style and elevated customer experience using people and technology

Eneli Kuku and Obiora• Redefined health care delivery in Nigeria by being the first publicly quoted Hospital.

Through its access to funds from the capital market, it was able to raise enough funds to procure state of the art medical equipment and hire experienced personnel thereby raising the bar in private health care delivery

2. The Corporate Personality

• Is it Human or Institutional?

Corporate Governance and the Institutional Route to Creating Value

The Struggle Between Enterprise and the Individual

Corporate Governance often lays water-tight rules which prevent

individuals from over-powering an enterprise

This perspective looks at an enterprise as institutional citizen

which must be protected

The Transition…

The Laissez-faire Order

Enlightened Self Interest

The Era of Regulation

The Era of the Triple Bottomline

The Era of Sustainability

The Power Dynamics

Institutional Power against the charisma

and genius of the Individual

Does Corporate Governance Limit Individual Initiative?

The Basis – Guided Leadership• The believe that concentration of too much power in the hands

of an individual may be counter-productive as such individual may become power drunk or corrupt.

• The thinking is that creating processes and procedures as opposed to allowing the discretion of the CEO prevail all the time, is a better route to attaining growth and stability of the enterprise.

The Individual’s point of Departure – The Place of Genius and Charisma• Under the same rules – Jack Welch is

different from Jeff Immelt and Steve Jobs is different from Tim Cook

The Clash of Corporate Vision and the Will of the Individual

The battle between John Sculley and Steve Jobs

The decision of the board to side with John Sculley The exit of Steve Jobs

The fall of Apple The return of human will in driving corporate vision The rise of Apple

No! Its Not the Individual, it’s the Collective…

The American Hero• Under the American

Context, the CEO has the power to create exceptional shareholder value, he or she also has the power to destroy value and given the need to keep value growing.

Striking a Balance• Despite the power of the

CEO, organizations need to strike the right balance

The Asian Example• Let’s look at the success of

Asian companies like Toyota, Honda, Tata, Samsung, LG and Hyundai – who are the Icons?

• Beginning to outperformed their American counterpart and conquering the world.

Thank you.