Jobs is "ultimate CEO"

Apple’s co-founder and chief exec Steve Jobs is described as the “ultimate CEO who matters,” according to a new survey by Barron’s magazine. The annual ranking of top CEOs from around the world identified the corporate leaders who have "top-notch reputations" in the financial community and would be missed by investors if they unexpectedly left their jobs. "The ultimate CEO who matters is Steve Jobs, a co-founder and guiding force at Apple. Jobs' departure probably would result in a greater loss of stock-market value than the loss of any other CEO in the world. Jobs might be worth 20 or so points to Apple shares, roughly $16 billion. No wonder the company last year seemed eager to minimize Jobs' role in Apple's options-backdating problem. Apple continues to out-innovate Microsoft, which spends about 10 times as much on research and development." The report says that 21 of the 30 CEO returned to the list from 2006, while two of those departed, Steve Reinemund of PepsiCo and John Browne (due to retirement). Other prominent chief executives included Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) and Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.).

by MacNN Staff