Leadership Profiles

Reset the culture to create new mindset

June 22, 2015

Kaz is a Southborough, Mass.-based company that makes health care and home appliances. In 2008, it was struggling to survive. That’s when Julien Mininberg arrived. Over five years, he took Kaz from near insolvency to record profits.

He made history with a two-liter bottle

June 15, 2015
In 1970, John Sculley was a newly hired marketing executive at Pepsi. His first assignment: to develop a distinctive glass bottle to compete against Coke’s popular 6.5-ounce container …

Ditch positive thinking and face reality

June 12, 2015
Some leaders harness the power of positive thinking. Not Olympic gold medalist Maarten van der ­Weijden.

Bill Gates’ obstinacy built Microsoft

June 1, 2015

Today, many people see Bill Gates as a globetrotting humanitarian. But in the 1980s, he was a headstrong entrepreneur. An incident involving company co-founder Paul Allen, a race to catch a flight, and an ill-advised attempt to spontaneously learn jetway mechanics demonstrates what made him so effective.

A leader’s first lesson: respect

May 28, 2015

Before Randy Nelson, 53, co-founded and ran two big companies (Orion International and NSTAR Global Services), he spent six years in the U.S. Navy, including serving as an officer on a nuclear submarine. He’s now an entrepreneur and coach in Clayton, N.C., and author of The Second Decision. He advises entrepreneurs in areas such as evaluating risk and advancing from startup phase to growing the organization.

Italian CEO’s sweet taste of success

May 26, 2015

Michele Ferrero only gave one interview and kept one secret: the recipe for his hazelnut-chocolate spread, Nutella. In that one interview, though, Italy’s chocolate king revealed three other trade secrets.

Rebound from defeat to win again

May 12, 2015
The story of competitive swimmer Tony Blake should give you a confidence boost no matter what you’re up against.

A CEO sharpens his eye for detail

May 5, 2015

In 1999, companies didn’t want their information stored in a huge database in what’s now known as the cloud. But Marc Benioff saw the future and pounced.

It takes more than one meeting to build up trust

April 23, 2015
Over 30 years, Rick Miller has run huge companies, startups and nonprofits. F­ormer CEO of AT&T Global Services, Miller is now a professional speaker and business adviser based in Morris­­town, N.J. He talked to EL editor Morey Stettner about what it takes to lead.

Cook up a recipe to model success

April 22, 2015

Nicknamed “The Father of Advertising,” David Ogilvy learned valuable lessons as a 20-year-old chef. At the time, Ogilvy had left college for a job as an apprentice chef at a prestigious Paris hotel. Ogilvy worked for the head chef, Monsieur Pitard, who ran a tight ship. When France’s president visited the hotel, Ogilvy was preparing frog legs in a white sauce when he noticed Pitard staring at him …