In 2003, when Fred Hassan took over as Chief Executive Officer at Schering-Plough, the company was in free-fall and being investigated for accounting irregularities. But he used his exceptional leadership CEO qualities to turn it round and in 2008 he led it to net profits of over $18.4 billion. In 2009, it was his role he successfully oversaw the $41.1 billion mega-merger with Merck.
When Herbert Hainer became Chief Executive Officer of sports colossus Adidas, he understood its need for leadership: “Our lack of innovation was shining through. My job was to make speedboats out of a big tanker.” Hainer’s understanding of this incredibly complex job – acquiring technologies and companies, divesting others, the sheer scale of staff and materials – all boils down to (and gets filtered through) that vision statement. Does this make us quicker? The result: three years after Hainer took the helm as Chief Executive Officer, Adidas revenues hit €10.5 billion – within spitting distance of Nike’s €11.1 billion*.