Nvidia chipmaker Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg are among the Economist's top 5 best CEOs in the world in 2023 - excluding China and India.
2023 is not going to be an easy year for business leaders. Slow growth in many markets is forcing CEOs to curb costs, while inflation is pushing workers to demand higher wages. That's not to mention the geopolitical impact, the waves of corporate culture and the artificial intelligence (AI) fever that make the "hot seats" really difficult to sit in.
To identify the best-performing CEOs of the past year, the Economist looked at listed companies in most major economies , excluding China and India. They excluded CEOs who had been in office for less than three years to avoid the results or legacy of their predecessors influencing performance.
The scores are based on shareholder returns, employee approval and satisfaction with the CEO — based on data from employee review platform Glassdoor. Here are the five CEOs honored this year.
Jensen Huang, Founder, Chairman and CEO Nvidia
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Singapore on December 6, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Achievements:
- Return to shareholders (period 12/15/2022 - 12/15/2023): 172.9%
- Credit rating: 98%
- Satisfaction score: 4.6/5
Jensen Huang, 60, was born in Taiwan and moved to Thailand as a child before settling in the United States. He co-founded graphics chip maker Nvidia in 1993 and has served as chairman and CEO since its inception. Huang owns about 3% of Nvidia, which went public in 1999.
Few bosses have been as far-sighted in betting on AI as Huang, according to the Economist . Under his leadership, Nvidia has become a dominant force in computer gaming chips and expanded into chips for data centers and self-driving cars.
More than a decade ago, Huang realized that his company's graphics processors were useful for training AI models, so he continuously invested in development. By 2023, Nvidia reaped the sweet fruit when it officially entered the top 5 US companies with a market capitalization of over $1,000 billion. By December 29, the chip company's market capitalization had reached $1,220 billion, helping Huang own a fortune of $44.1 billion.
Nvidia now controls more than 80% of the market for specialized AI chips. Huang has a 98% employee approval rating within the company. By all accounts, the CEO has had his best year yet in 2023, according to the Economist .
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO Meta
CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Menlo Park, California, USA on September 27, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Achievements:
- Return to shareholders (period 12/15/2022 - 12/15/2023): 172.7%
- Trust rate: 62%
- Satisfaction score: 3.9/5
Mark Zuckerberg (39 years old) founded Facebook at Harvard in 2004 when he was only 19 years old. He took Facebook public in May 2012. Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms in November 2021 to show the company's shift in focus to the metaverse.
However, Mark Zuckerberg's investment in the virtual universe has not been successful, even scaring investors last year. By 2023, Mark had returned to restructure the company's operations and made breakthroughs in the field of AI. As of December 29, the company's capitalization reached 920.83 billion USD. Mark currently owns about 13% of Meta's shares, with total assets of 126.8 billion USD.
However, Mark is the exception in the top 5 with an employee trust rating of just 62%. Despite being rated as a productive year, Meta's employees are still "terrible", according to the Economist .
Kazuma Sekiya, President and CEO of Disco
Disco President and CEO Kazuma Sekiya. Photo: Toshiharu Takei
Achievements:
- Return to shareholders (period 12/15/2022 - 12/15/2023): 150.1%
- Trust rate: 81%
- Satisfaction score: 3.5/5
Kazuma Sekiya (57 years old) is the grandson of Mitsuo Sekiya - the founder of Disco. The company was founded in Hiroshima, Japan in 1937. In addition to being the company's CEO since 2017, he is also the COO (chief operating officer) and CIO (chief information officer). Mr. Kazuma became Disco's Chairman in June 2019.
Disco makes equipment that cuts semiconductors into small squares and rectangles for use in products like cell phones. They began making their own lines of these devices in 1970.
Mr. Kazuma also ran Disco’s research and development division, helping the company stay ahead in the semiconductor grinding and cutting field for many years. As of December 29, the company’s market capitalization was 3.79 trillion yen, or $26.8 billion. The Sekiya family now has a total net worth of about $3 billion.
Employee satisfaction at Disco is also low, according to the Economist. One explanation may be the strange mechanism the company uses to coordinate work. Departments here use a virtual currency called Will to pay each other for providing services. Management then distributes this currency to employees for performing tasks, thereby determining bonuses.
David Vélez Osorno, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Nubank
Nubank CEO David Vélez Osorno. Photo: Julio Bittencourt
Achievements:
- Return to shareholders (period 12/15/2022 - 12/15/2023): 122.3%
- Credit rating: 93%
- Satisfaction score: 4.2/5
With a bachelor's degree in management and engineering from Stanford University, David Vélez Osorno, along with Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, founded digital bank Nubank in 2013. The company, based in Sao Paulo (Brazil), offers credit cards, digital bank accounts and life insurance.
Few neobanks (digital banks) can compete with Nubank in Latin America. They operate in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, have around 90 million users, and are the fifth largest financial institution in Latin America by number of customers.
According to Bloomberg News , this is the most valuable startup in Latin America in 2021. Investors include Berkshire Hathaway, Sequoia Capital and SoftBank's Latin American funds. As of December 29, the company had a market capitalization of 39.7 billion USD.
Mr. Velez owns 21% of Nubank but controls 76% of the voting rights. Despite being a top CEO, not all of his strategies have paid off. Nubank is generally profitable but is losing money in Mexico, where targeting the unbanked is burning through cash. If he can successfully reverse losses in that market next year, he could be named the best CEO of 2024 again, according to the Economist .
David Ricks, CEO Eli Lilly
David Ricks, CEO Eli Lilly. Photo: Eli Lilly
Achievements:
- Return to shareholders (period 12/15/2022 - 12/15/2023): 59.9%
- Credit rating: 90%
- Satisfaction score: 4.1/5
David Ricks holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University. He joined Eli Lilly in 1996 as a business development associate and held several management roles in marketing and sales in the U.S. before moving into international leadership positions.
In 2012, Dave was promoted to President of Lilly Bio-Medicines, then the company's largest business unit, overseeing drug development and commercialization in the areas of neuroscience, pain, and immunology.
He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly, which develops, manufactures, and markets pharmaceuticals for humans and animals. Their products focus on neuroscience, endocrinology, anti-infectives, cardiovascular, oncology, and veterinary medicine.
Eli Lilly is the world's most valuable pharmaceutical company, with a market capitalization of $551.4 billion as of December 29. This year, Ricks has brought Eli Lilly close to Danish rival Novo Nordisk in the anti-obesity drug market.
However, the company has also run into trouble after several US states, including California, sued it for allegedly overcharging for insulin, a vital drug for diabetics. The company has denied what it described as “false allegations” in the California lawsuit. In March, it decided to cut the price of insulin by 70%, but that did not quell the anger.
Phien An ( according to Economist, Forbes, Bloomberg )
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