Electronic Data Systems Corp.
Richard Brown, 54
CEO since 1998
Industry:
Office Equipment & Computers
Sales:
$21.5 billion
Net Income:
$1.4 billion
Corporate Snapshot:
EDS
Brown has led an impressive resurgence at eds, the Plano (Tex.) info-tech services giant founded by Ross Perot. Brown's first move was to cut costs by consolidating businesses and slashing jobs. Thanks to a boom in outsourcing by customers seeking to defray IT costs, EDS's sales grew 12% in 2001, and net income, 21%. While the value of new outsourcing contracts fell slightly, to $31.4 billion, it's up 166% over 1998. Critics have questioned how Brown accounts for equipment loans that EDS arranges for customers. He says the accounting is sound. And he's bullish enough about the future to have just increased his sales force by half.
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Nabors Industries Inc.
Eugene Isenberg, 72
CEO since 1987
Industry:
Fuel
Sales:
$2.1 billion
Net Income:
$348 million
Corporate Snapshot:
NBR
Despite low oil and gas prices, which forced many customers to cut back or eliminate a slew of U.S. drilling projects, the world's largest drilling contractor managed to more than double profits last year. Now Isenberg is banking on international expansion to fuel more growth. Recently he has focused on Canada, buying Command Drilling in November and agreeing to buy Enserco Energy Service in March. Enserco would make Houston's Nabors the second-biggest land driller in Canada. After a year in which Nabors' shareholders suffered –37.4% returns, they're betting that an economic recovery and rising oil prices could spark a new round of drilling activity.
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Xcel Energy Inc.
Wayne Brunetti, 59
CEO since 2000
Industry:
Utilities & Energy Services
Sales:
$14.8 billion
Net Income:
$785 million
Corporate Snapshot:
XEL
Xcel Energy of Minneapolis rode the upswing in energy prices in the first half of last year. The electricity-and-gas company, formed in mid-2000 through the merger of Northern States Power of Minneapolis and Denver's New Century Enterprises, saw strong demand from retail customers of its regulated utilities. The 74%-owned NRG Energy subsidiary generated a quarter of Xcel's net income last year, which grew 44%. This year will be rough, with electricity prices down. But Xcel hopes that buying the rest of NRG will reduce costs by combining trading operations and ensuring investment-grade access to capital through Xcel.
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Copyright 2002, Bloomberg L.P.
