Marathon Oil Corp.
Clarence P. Cazalot Jr.
, 51
CEO since 2000
Industry:
Fuel
Sales:
$33 billion
Net Income:
$1.3 billion
Corporate Snapshot:
MRO
Breaking up is supposed to be hard to do. But that wasn't the case for Marathon Oil, which split from U.S. Steel on Jan. 1. Now the Houston integrated oil and gas company is hoping that its newfound independence will give it speed and agility in an ever-consolidating energy sector. Cazalot boosted net income 214% by increasing production, while cutting $150 million worth of exploration and production costs. He wants to set Marathon apart from behemoths like ExxonMobil by becoming a niche player. But with choice international assets such as the gas fields it recently acquired in Equatorial Guinea, Marathon is also a prime takeover candidate.
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Citigroup Inc.
Sanford Weill, 69
CEO since 1998
Industry:
Nonbank Financial
Sales:
$112 billion
Net Income:
$14.3 billion
Corporate Snapshot:
C
Citigroup, the country's largest financial institution, proved that being a conglomerate can be a good thing in tough times. Although the New York company wrote off more than $700 million in 2001 for its exposure on loans to Argentina and Enron, it still posted a 6% gain in net income last year, to more than $14 billion. That's off its three-year average annual pace of 33.3% but is particularly impressive when stacked up against competitors such as J.P. Morgan Chase, which posted 70% lower net income last year. The key to Citigroup's growth was the company's massive consumer lending arm, which helped counteract downturns in the capital markets. Revenues there increased 20%, to $11.2 billion. The company now plans to spin off Travelers Property & Casualty group in a deal expected to raise about $4 billion--which is being earmarked for more acquisitions. Expect Citigroup to add to its already powerful consumer franchise.
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Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Jeffrey Barbakow, 58
CEO since 1993
Industry:
Health Care
Sales:
$12.9 billion
Net Income:
$765 million
Corporate Snapshot:
THC
Tenet is on a winning streak. In 2001, the Santa Barbara (Calif.) company acquired six hospitals, bringing its total network to 116 hospitals in 17 states. Size has allowed Tenet to squeeze higher payments out of insurers. Barbakow has also boosted profitability by instituting strict cost-control measures at each hospital. Its seven-hospital chain in Pennsylvania--which was bleeding $1 million a day when Tenet bought it out of bankruptcy in 1998--turned profitable last year. That helped boost net income by 88%. Barbakow's biggest headache? A chronic nursing shortage, which could force him to raise wages and benefits to compete for talent.
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Copyright 2002 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
