How would the leader of your company rate for congeniality, popularity or what might be otherwise labeled “CEO Likeability?”
An inaugural survey that crowd sourced more than a quarter of a million CEO ratings has tabulated the “fondness factor” across 50 cities and 25 industries.
Owler, a research company in the throes of building the world’s largest database of company and executive information, claims to have uncovered what people truly think of CEOs in Seattle and throughout the country.
The research comes at a time when many at the top of the corporate ladder have come under fire for disproportionate executive pay, and where those at the high altar are often the first to be sacrificed under the glare of public scrutiny, investor backlash and PR blunders.
The number one rated chief executive in the nation, according to the Owler poll, is Craig Jelinek of home-based Costco. So credit Seattle for icing the survey from the outset by taking the top spot overall.
On the standalone Seattle list, AppViewX’s Manny Rivelo, Redfin’s Glenn Kelman, and Amazon’s Jeffrey P. Bezos were ranked 1-2-3 (Bezos at 89/100 was #31 nationally.)
With an average score of 71.7/100, Seattle ranked #6 in the country overall suggesting that Seattle CEOs are very popular relative to other CEOs around the country.
A couple of anomalies: T-Mobile’s maverick CEO, John Legere, was somehow relegated to Owl’s least most affectionate list, a rating that seems contrary to the legions of T-Mobile customers who admire the outspoken leader and follow the chief executive into the kitchen every weekend for his cooking tips on #slowcookersunday.
Expedia CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, who just two years ago was America’ highest paid CEO, did not register on the current Owler Likeability scale. In 2016, Khosrowshahi actually banked less than Expedia Chairman Barry Diller or his CFO and general counsel lieutenants.
Other local rankings: Satya Nadella of Microsoft registered at #41 on the U.S.A. list. Elon Musk of SpaceX and Google’s Sundar Pichair came in at #37 and #38 respectively.
Silicon Valley might not be very happy to see that none of their corporate captains including Facebook and Google cracked the top 10 in their local markets although, as noted, Google’s Pichai ranked #38 on the national list.
When looked at by industry, the top bosses in certain sectors fared better than others. The Marketing & Creative, Travel & Hospitality, and Automotive industries tended to earn more love. Last on the list — not surprisingly — were those in the Airline industry. (Although Alaska Airlines’ Bradley Tilden scored 66.6 out of 100 to rank at #8 on the Seattle list.)
At the opposite end of the sentimentality spectrum, Marissa Mayer was assessed the “Least Likable” CEO by the Owlers. Mayer has been widely criticized for her leadership since becoming Yahoo’s chief executive in July 2012. After demanding that the company’s remote employees resume working from the office, routinely arriving late to meetings and being called a micromanager by Yahoo insiders, Mayer has not gotten much of a break from public and employee disapproval. [24×7]
