Most Admired CEO Characteristics

A new global study conducted by Burson-Marsteller with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) asked more than 600 global business influentials in 65 countries to write in which CEO or chairman they admire most in the business world today.

Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and chief software architect, was ranked as the the world’s most admired business leader, followed by Steve Jobs (Apple), etc.

More important than the rankings were the reasons and characteristics for being included on the list:

• Recognition for ongoing stewardship at the company they founded (Eight of the top 15 leaders (53 %) are company founders.)
• Business decision-makers clearly voted for long-term performance and proven track records over fleeting success.
• The tenures of these top-ranking CEOs are not short-lived. They had an average tenure of 21 years to repeatedly prove themselves.”

Read the summary of the rankings here.