Brand Guardianship Index 2021

The annual report on the world’s top 100 CEOs

Where Does Jeff Bezos Rank Among the World’s Top 100 CEOs? 

• Jeff Bezos ranks 2nd among world’s most famous CEOs but fame is not everything as no “celebrity CEOs” make top 10 brand guardians list  
• Mr. Bezos ranks 73rd among world’s top 100 brand guardians, scoring below average on 7 out of 10 characteristics 
• Mastercard’s Ajay Banga – champion of technological innovation and financial inclusion – is crowned best brand guardian  

• Only 8 of top 100 CEOs are female, with Tapestry’s Joanne Crevoiserat most reputable among all top 100 CEOs  
• Top 100 CEOs are on average 57 years old and paid US$20 million a year 

Jeff Bezos ranks second among the world’s most famous CEOs, behind Mark Zuckerberg and ahead of Tim Cook and Elon Musk, according to new research on the top 100 CEOs by Brand Finance – the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.  

Although the “celebrity CEOs” score highest for familiarity in the Brand Guardianship Index 2021, fame is not everything, as none of them rank among the world’s top 10 brand guardians. CEOs like Jeff Bezos have gained publicity due to the success and widespread appeal of the brands they guard over, as well as their willingness to be in the public spotlight, but a significant number of lesser-known global CEOs score higher on other statements related to reputation and governance that characterize great brand guardians. 

In Brand Finance’s original market research among a globally representative sample of 300 market analysts and business journalists, Mr. Bezos scores below average on 7 out of 10 statements measured. Although his familiarity is very high, he gets some of the lowest marks for “understanding the importance of reputation”, “showing an ethical approach”, “promoting diversity”, “being socially responsible”, and “an inspiration to others”. In addition, the net sentiment of his media coverage is negative, and he ranks low for staff approval, which drives his overall score down. 

In Brand Finance’s ranking of the world’s top 100 brand guardians, Tim Cook ranks 14th, Mark Zuckerberg 42nd, Elon Musk 64th, and Jeff Bezos – who has just announced his resignation from his role as the CEO of Amazon – only 73rd. 

In 2019, Jeff Bezos ranked as the #1 brand guardian. In 2021, on the eve of his resignation from the CEO role, he has fallen nearly to the bottom of the ranking. Between negative coverage of his divorce, allegations regarding poor treatment of workers, and criticism for his apparent reluctance to use wealth for philanthropic goals, Mr. Bezos’ departure from direct leadership might be the best course of action for Amazon. 

David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance

The leadership shift means that Jeff Bezos will still have authority over the direction of Amazon, but he will be relieved from the tasks of the CEO and direct management of the brand and the company. Mr. Bezos intends to spend more time on climate change initiatives and developing his two other major business projects, namely, The Washington Post and Blue Origin, a space exploration program to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.  

Disassociating himself from the day-to-day management of Amazon might help repair Jeff Bezos’ personal brand, and as he focuses his attention on developing cutting-edge technologies beyond the e-commerce domain, he can even elevate his global influence and channel it for a greater good.

Annie Brown, Associate, Brand Finance

Ajay Banga is top CEO  

This year’s best brand guardian among the world’s top 100 CEOs is Mastercard’s Ajay Banga. Mr. Banga announced his transition from CEO to executive chairman in 2020, rounding off a successful and decorated 10 years as CEO. Since taking the helm of Mastercard, Mr. Banga has embraced technological innovation, ensuring the brand remained relevant despite a period of rapid change in financial services. Mr. Banga also champions the idea of financial inclusion and has leveraged his influence to build strategic partnerships with financial institutions worldwide to help fight poverty. 

Close behind Mr. Banga is the 2nd highest ranked brand guardian, Jensen Huang of Nvidia. In the past 5 years, graphics- and chipmaker Nvidia has witnessed rapid brand value growth due to Mr. Huang’s leadership, as well as the recent acquisition of ARM which is expected to deliver huge synergies and further momentum to Nvidia’s AI capability growth. Mr. Huang established Nvidia in 1993 and has since built a brand with innovation in its DNA. A well-known philanthropist, Mr. Huang has donated US$30 million to Stanford University to establish and engineering center, and US$5 million towards cancer research labs in Oregon. 

The 3rd best brand guardian in 2021 is Reed Hastings of Netflix. In January, Netflix announced it has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time. Mr. Hastings has openly shared that Netflix today was his vision from day one, the DVDs were always a substitute for the future potential he knew the internet offered. Netflix’s working culture is famously open and non-hierarchical, guided by Mr. Hasting’s ’no rules’ rules. Netflix continues to invest billions of dollars in original content development, refreshing the international offering to subscribers. In the past 5 years, Netflix’s brand value has grown by an average of 40% per year and the platform has become a household brand across the world. 

COVID-19 has presented perhaps the greatest challenge to all CEOs this year. Leaders have had to both protect the financial interests of shareholders and protect their people from the very real threat to health and life posed by the pandemic. It has required resolve and vision to safeguard - and in some cases grow - one of these leaders’ most important assets, their company’s brand.

David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance

Profile of the top 100 

Only eight of the top 100 brand guardians are female, due to a continued shortage of female leadership in major corporations across the globe. The female brand guardians in the ranking include six from American companies and two from Chinese companies. This is an improvement from only four in 2020. Susan Patricia Griffith of Progressive is the highest-ranked female brand guardian, at 28th this year. Many of the CEOs in the ranking advocate for diversity and inclusion themselves, and through gradual progress and continued female leadership we hope to see more female brand leaders in the future.  

The #MeToo movement gained traction in 2017, in an overdue tidal wave of recognition for the staggering evidence of sexual harassment faced by women in the workplace. This movement may have begun to make reparations and bring awareness to the issues, but evidently equality is a long way away. Whether it be conscious or unconscious bias that results in a distinct lack of female leadership, work is clearly needed. The 8% representation of women in the Brand Guardianship Index 100 reflects the total sample which also was 8% female. Women are equally capable of being exceptional leaders and it is about time that boardrooms reflect that.

Annie Brown, Associate, Brand Finance

48 of the top 100 brand guardians are CEOs of US companies, 25 are from East Asia and 17 from Europe. The highest-ranking brand guardian of a non-American company is Alibaba’s Yong Zhang (Daniel Zhang).  

The average age of the brand guardians in the top 100 is 57 - it is most common to be a brand guardian between the ages of 50-60. 

The top brand guardians have invested years of their life in the brands; 81% of the Brand Guardianship Index top 100 were either appointed from within or are founder-CEOs.  

They are duly compensated; the average brand guardian compensation in the latest fiscal year was US$20 million. This is based on disclosed information for 72 of the 100. The total compensation to those 72 brand guardians was over US$1.4 billion. Sundar Pichai of Google received the highest compensation – a total of US$281 million. 

The most reputable CEOs 

Joanne Crevoiserat is one of only eight female CEOs that make the top 100 list of brand guardians. She is also the most reputable CEO in the top 100, according to a global sample of equity analysts and journalists. Ms. Crevoiserat took the reins of Tapestry (formerly Coach) last year, having previously served as company CFO and interim CEO of Kate Spade. Prior to Tapestry, her experience spanned many big-brand retailers in the US, including Abercrombie & Fitch and Kohls.  

Sector leaders 

2020 added new challenges to oil company chief executives facing uncertainty in the market with COVID-19, oil price fluctuation and energy transition pressures all landing on their desks. Strong and inspiring leadership is integral to company reputation and staff morale. H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber of ADNOC is the highest-ranked oil & gas CEO in the BGI in 2021, and places 13th overall. ADNOC’s transformation since 2016 has taken the brand from strength to strength. Under the astute leadership of H.E. Dr. Sultan, ADNOC has evolved into a trusted global player with one brand and one strategic vision at its core. It has attracted some of the world’s leading institutional investors as partners across its business and has raised more than US$64 billion through such transactions since the start of its transformation. 

At a time where chief executives of European integrated oil companies are under pressure to evolve to net zero while still delivering a financial return, all three of the oil & gas brand guardians are leaders of national oil companies: ADNOC (13th), Saudi Aramco (23rd), and Petronas (38th). 

In a sector that has historically suffered from the reputational impacts of the financial crisis, effective brand management from the top is crucial for banks. Citi’s Mike Corbat is the highest-ranking brand guardian in the banking industry (20th).   

The leading global brand guardian in the telecoms industry is Nasser Sulaiman Al Nasser of stc, ranked 41st overall. Mr Nasser became CEO of stc in 2018 and during his tenure, stc has undertaken a profound evolution into a leader for digital transformation. Under Mr Nasser, stc is pioneering 5G development for the Middle East and diversifying the Saudi economy in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. 

Following a successful tenure in which stc brand value and strength have consistently grown, Mr Nasser will depart stc in March. Following his departure, stc will continue to benefit from Mr Nasser’s vision and hand in the successful 2020 rebrand.