Peek-a-boo CEOs
People have always wanted to know about CEOs. How they got to where they are, their success secrets, what they have for breakfast or even why they always wear black. This perpetual curiosity in turn, brings out the exhibitionist in CEOs. Exhibitionist or not, a large number of CEOs are abundantly influential, commanding a certain god-like adulation from their followers.
A case in point - Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs, the ever-popular and highly charismatic co-founder and CEO of Apple is probably one of the most known and for lack of a better word, glamorous CEOs of the world. Add to that, he runs one of the most popular brands one can think of. So heightened is his charisma and his appeal, that he is well known to convince himself and others of anything he wishes to.
That being said, there are some CEOs who challenge the entire assumption that a CEO needs to be feverishly popular or charmingly articulate to be able to achieve a certain level of success. These CEOs are bashful and sometimes so far removed from public glare that their names may not inspire excited responses or even signs of precious recognition. What’s interesting to see, is that this reticence has absolutely no effect on their success or on the bottom lines of their companies.
For instance, not many of us can safely say that we are in the know about Jim Balsillie or Mike Lazaridis. These co-CEOs run one of the most successful companies in the world RIM (Research in Motion). Balsillie is the brain behind all the business and strategic decision making and Lazaridis is the technology geek. RIM makes the omnipresent BlackBerry phones. BlackBerry is arguably as popular as Apple, if not more. Ideally, Balsillie and Lazaridis should have been on every blogpost, every newspaper cutout, every tweet. Quite on the contrary, they are not even close to being a household name and are not popular for charisma or wit. However, they makes good business. Very good business. Balsillie and Lazaridis are worth US$2.3 billion and US$2.9 billion respectively.
Closer to home in India, Karsanbhai Patel, the founder of the ever-popular Nirma stands as a fitting example. Karsanbhai Patel is one of India’s most successful CEOs with a net worth of $500 million. The unassuming industrialist entered the detergent industry without so much as a thud, but that did not stop him from making one of the biggest impacts. He sold detergent from house to house on his bicycle after a long work day and priced it at Rs 3 a kg. This was one-third the price of the famously popular Surf which was going at Rs 13 a kg. The high quality and low price of the detergent was a hit. Supplemented by housewife-friendly advertisement, Nirma revolutionized the detergent market, creating an entirely new segment for economy detergent powder. Today, Nirma is one of the biggest companies in India and in the world, even finding a place on the Forbes list.
Another example - Bisleri.
Bisleri, whose CEO is Ramesh Chauhan, is another product that is so popular, that its brand name is now synonymous with bottled water. Bisleri was originally an Italian company founded and owned by Felice Bisleri. This brand of bottled water was introduced in 1965 in Mumbai and in the year 1969, Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd. In 1995 Ramesh J. Chauhan started expanding Bisleri operations and in 2003 announced its venture to Europe. Bisleri holds 60 percent of the market share in packaged drinking water in India.
Given this history and the scale of operations of the brand, it is easy to tell that it is a largely successful one; success that has been carefully maneuvered by its CEO. That being said, not many people know who the CEO of Bisleri is. He is not a household name. So much so, that his name doesn’t even reveal very many search results. However, it’s safe to say, that each time someone goes to buy bottled water, it’s Bisleri they are looking for.
Jim Balsillie, Mike Lazaridis, Karsanbhai Patel or Ramesh Chauhan may not be very socially present, but there is definitely something they are doing right. The brands they pioneer find a place in almost every household; thus nonchalantly turning the CEO popularity contest theory on its head.
Does a CEO need to be smack bang in the center of the spotlight to be successful? On the flip side, what are the benefits of being a silent, yet astute businessman? Throwing the question open to the readers of this blog, we would love to hear what you think.
