Executives to Watch in 1999
Alan R. Mulally, BOEING
There's turbulence ahead for Mulally. The 53-year-old Boeing veteran must turn around the profitless commercial airplane group. Tough job. Mulally has to build a record number of planes in '99 while making progress cutting up to 48,000 jobs. If it works, he could someday be rewarded with the CEO job.
Jeffrey P. Bezos, AMAZON.COM
This former hedge-fund manager, 34, has made Amazon the Web's biggest retailer. But formidable rival Barnes & Noble is moving aggressively online. Bezos' answer: expand into electronics and toys. No one expects profits in 1999, but this year may show whether Amazon is a keeper.
Andrea Jung, AVON PRODUCTS
Since becoming president a year ago, the 40-year-old marketing whiz, who helped modernize the Avon image, is continuing her push overseas. Considered a shoo-in to become the next CEO, Jung's goal is to make the cosmetics company a household name around the globe.
Sanford I. Weill, CITIGROUP
1998 was a roller coaster ride for Weill. Problems combining Travelers with Citicorp last fall, led Weill, 65, to dump his president and long-time protege, James Dimon, leaving the company in disarray. Now, Weill has to build a new team--and prove he can share the top job with John S. Reed.
Marjorie Scardino, PEARSON
The irreverent, Texas-born Scardino, 51, has livened British media giant Pearson and shed noncore assets. Now the hard part: digesting the recent $4.6 billion purchase of two Simon & Schuster units. The deal leaves Pearson's CEO facing hefty debt as Britain enters a downturn.
William H. Gates III, MICROSOFT
So what if he's the richest man in the world? Gates, 43, faces a perilous future. Microsoft is battling to build its Microsoft Network as it endures an antitrust trial. Last August, Gates stepped back from day-to-day operations to guide product development. He better not stray too far from the tiller.
Eckhard Pfeiffer, COMPAQ COMPUTER
After snapping up Digital Equipment early last year, Pfeiffer, 57, spent much of 1998 digesting the troubled computer maker. But with strong holiday sales, Compaq looks to be back on track. Now, Pfeiffer is offering PCs over the Internet. The question is, can he sell direct and keep his resellers happy?
Mel Karmazin, CBS
1999 may show whether CBS's new CEO is a manager or a salesman. Karmazin, 55, who made his name selling radio ads, engineered the public offering of CBS's outdoor advertising and radio business. He vows he's in TV for the long haul. But the buzz persists that he'll sell the network.
Hugh L. McColl Jr., BANKAMERICA
McColl's NationsBank just completed its merger with BankAmerica, creating a banking leviathan. But there are already signs of strain: BofA CEO David Coulter was forced out after a $372 million hedge-fund loss surfaced. McColl, 63, agreed to extend his tenure as he tries to make this merger work.
Robert B. Shapiro, MONSANTO
Shapiro, 60, has enlivened Monsanto and excited Wall Street about new drugs. But the payoff on the CEO's biggest bet--blending seeds, drugs, and food into a ''life sciences'' unit--is years away. A consolidating industry may not give him that much time.
Jill Barad, MATTEL
What a way to end the year. Barad, 47, warned Wall Street in December that earnings would fall 35% for 1998. To strike a better note in 1999, Mattel's CEO needs to pull off her announced $3.8 billion deal for Learning Company, while jump-starting Barbie sales.
George Bell, EXCITE
Talk about the hot seat. Bell, 41, faces a make-or-break year as he battles Web-portal rivals from Walt Disney to aol to Microsoft. But with Excite looking a lot like acquisition bait, ceo Bell's biggest job may be to cut a good deal.
Chung Ju Yung, HYUNDAI GROUP
Despite government pressure on Korea's chaebols to cut debt, Hyundai's 83-year-old founder shows no signs of slowing. Recent investments, including $2 billion in North Korea and a $6 billion takeover of Kia Motors, could overwhelm Hyundai--and add to Korea's misery.
Cynthia M. Trudell, SATURN
Trudell, 45, made history on Jan. 1 when she took the wheel at General Motors' Saturn unit, becoming the first woman to run a U.S. car division. But with Saturn's sales sputtering and its labor relations frayed, she has little time to celebrate. What's ahead? For one thing, a sport-utility vehicle due in 2001.
Junichi Ujiie, NOMURA SECURITIES
For Ujiie, 53, 1999 will be a year of heavy lifting. Japan's largest brokerage got whacked hard overseas in 1998, losing $1.2 billion on Russian and U.S. securities. Now Ujiie has to find a way to make money in the face of massive turmoil in Nomura's home markets. It's not going to be a cakewalk.
John Dasburg, NORTHWEST AIRLINES
While most of the industry raked in record profits, Northwest actually lost money in 1998. The problem: a pilots' strike, which grounded the carrier for 15 days. Now CEO Dasburg, 56, needs to woo back business fliers, to improve service, and win approval for an alliance with Continental Airlines.
M. Douglas Ivester, COCA-COLA
The world currency crisis has crushed Coca-Cola's bottom line. After a poor third quarter, Ivester, 51, warned that fourth-quarter earnings would plunge. Other CEOs might turn tail, but not Ivester. In December he agreed to pay $1.75 billion to acquire overseas rights to 30 of Cadbury Schweppes's brands.
Ellen Marram, EX-TROPICANA
After turning around a stagnant Tropicana with a restructuring, Marram, 51, oversaw its sale to PepsiCo for $3.3 billion in August. Then she left. Anxious to run her own show, she's hunting for a new job. Will she find a CEO chair in 1999?
Douglass A. Warner III, J.P. MORGAN
The heat is on Warner, Morgan's 52-year-old CEO. Warner is trying to transform Morgan into a big-time investment bank with big-time profits. But results have been mixed, leading to speculation Morgan will be sold. A warning about disappointing fourth-quarter earnings was only the latest in a series of blows.
Rolf E. Breuer, DEUTSCHE BANK
Breuer, 61, had been hinting for more than a year that his bank was mulling big moves. In late 1998, he proved it when Deutsche launched a $9 billion bid for Bankers Trust. But Deutsche's earlier attempt to build a strong U.S. presence failed. Breuer needs to make sure this effort works.
Edgar Bronfman Jr., SEAGRAM
Seagram's 43-year-old CEO badly needs a hit. Last year, Seagram's movie business, Universal Studios, flopped, its liquor business hiccuped, and Bronfman spent $10 billion to buy music giant Polygram. Now he must prove that he can actually manage the businesses his family controls.
Henry R. Silverman, CENDANT
Can Chairman Silverman, 58, mend his frayed reputation? Following Cendant's huge accounting scandal, its stock is still at half its former high. His plan: Buy back stock and sell unwanted units. But a generous repricing of his own stock options in October still has investors irked.
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