TheWorld’sTopCEOWhenAmazonwentpublic,in1997,CEOJeffBezoswrotealettertoshareholdersthatoutlinedhiscentralmission:“It’sallaboutthelongterm.”Fifteenyearslater,Bezos’sonlineretailinggianthasadded$111billioninmarketcapandcontinuestodisruptitsrivals.AndstillAma-zonfeelslikeacompanythatisplayingalonggame.Bezos’scontinuingachievementhaswonhimaccolades—hewasTime’sPersonoftheYearin1999andFortune’sBusinesspersonoftheYearin2012.Andnow,inthemostcomprehensiveandobjectiverankingwe’veeverseenofglobalCEOs’performance,Bezosemergesastheworld’snumberonelivingCEO.(OnlythelateSteveJobshadabetterrecord.)Thelist,compiledbyMortenHansen,HerminiaIbarra,andUrsPeyer,isnotbasedonreputation,popularity,oranecdotalevidenceofaccomplishment.It’sbasedonharddata.Andit’sallaboutthelongterm:ItmeasuresCEOs’perfor-manceovertheirentiretenure.(FortheTop100listandanexplanationofthemethodology,turntopage81.)IspokewithBezosonCyberMonday—November26—duringwhatturnedouttobethebiggestonlineshoppingdayinhistoryandthebestsalesdayeverforAmazon’sKindledevices.Hereiteratedhisfarsightedfocus,eventhoughithasoccasionallycausedhimtofalloutoffavorwithWallStreet.“Ifyou’relong-termoriented,”hesaid,“customerinterestsandshareholderinterestsarealigned.Intheshortterm,that’snotalwaysthecase.”(Forthefullinterview,seepage83.)SokudostoJeffBezos.AndtoHansen,Ibarra,andPeyer,whocrunchedthenumbersonmorethan3,000CEOsaroundtheworldtocompilethisremark-ablelist.AdiIgnatius,EditorinChiefPhotograPhy:EliEhonEinhbr.org10harvardbusinessreviewJanuary–February2013FromtheEditorTheauthor’sprincipleofthedualoperat-ingsystemiswellintentionedbutmaysufferanagencyprobleminexecution.Ifthe“volunteerarmy”iscomprisedmostlyofmiddleandlowermanagement,thecompanymightnotbeabletorelyonpeopletocontinuesigningupwithoutsomeformofrewardorincentive.Thesemanagersaretakingonresponsibilitiesformerlyassignedtothehighestlevels—andsucceedingwildlyatit.Appealingtotheiremotionsmayhelpraiseanarmy,butitmaynotkeepthemaround.DavidLengacher,principala...
