Best CEOs in the World Based On Performance, Salary And Experience

Who do you think is the best CEO in the world? From being the best to being the top-performing, famous and highest-paid CEO in the world, there are a lot on the list. Top CEOs worldwide represent the highest level of leadership excellence, crossing borders and industries with their insightful abilities and dedicated commitment. Digging deep into their outstanding accomplishments and skills in navigating complex challenges and bringing transformative change in global markets, TradeFlock has made this list of the best CEOs in the world. We have considered their performance, salary, and experience to rank them.

With a strong focus on innovation and a relentless dedication to excellence, they guide their organizations toward unparalleled success, shaping the future of industries and economies worldwide. Their ability to anticipate trends and make bold decisions pushes the limits of achievable goals, motivating teams to strive for greater accomplishments and encouraging stakeholders to have confidence in the impact of effective leadership. 

Head Over To Read About The Best-Performing CEOs in the World

We have broken down the list of the most famous and influential CEOs in the world on various criteria. Below is a list to navigate sections in the blog further.

1. Top 20 Best-Performing CEOs In The World (Based on Tenure or Perfromance) 

2. Top 10 Most Famous CEOs In The World (Market Value)

3. Best Female CEOs In The World

4. Highest Paid CEOs In The World

5. Youngest CEOs in The World

6. Top Indian CEOs Globally

List Of Top 20 Best-Performing CEOs In The World

Executing the position of Chief Executive Officer comes with great responsibility and challenges to operating business models. The CEO is the caption of the ship who navigates the organisation through its thick and thin, ensuring everything is at the right place and time.  Here, we are sharing the list of the top 20 CEOs in the world. 

1. Arvind Krishna, IBM

He is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IBM (International Business Machines Corporation), one of the top giants in the world to revolutionise technology. Arvind Krishna emerges as a business leader and top technologist leading the way in transforming IBM for emerging artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing, and blockchain technologies. 

2. Tim Cook, Apple 

Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple, one of the world’s most valuable companies. He assumed the role of chief executive in 2011 after serving as Apple’s chief operating officer under Steve Jobs. Cook joined Apple in 1998, having previously worked briefly at PC maker Compaq and for 12 years at IBM.

3. Shantanu Narayen, Adobe 

Shantanu Narayen serves as Adobe’s chairman, president, and CEO. He joined the company in 1998 and assumed the role of CEO in 2007. Before his tenure at Adobe, he worked as a product developer at Apple and co-founded Pictra, a photo-sharing startup.

4. Patrick P. Gelsinger, Intel

He is an American business executive and engineer, appointed as CEO of Intel. A remarkable brand, Intel, depicts the model of innovation in cloud computing, data centres, and the Internet of Things. Patrick put his tech expertise to scale up the company’s avenue. 

5. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta 

Mark Zuckerberg serves as Meta’s founder, chairman, and CEO, originally established as Facebook in 2004. He oversees the company’s overall direction and product strategy. Additionally, he co-founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) with his wife, Priscilla, in 2015, aiming to address societal challenges.

6. Elon Musk, Tesla & SpaceX 

Elon Musk co-founded six companies, including Tesla, a maker of electric cars; SpaceX, a producer of rockets; and the Boring Company, a startup focused on tunnelling. His success and distinctive personal style have compared him to other successful tycoons from U.S. history.

7. Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, Reliance Industries

Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman, Managing Director, and CEO of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), was born on April 19, 1957. His father, Dhirubhai Ambani, started as a small businessman and later became legendary in Indian industry.

8. Will Cathcart, WhatsApp

Will Cathcart is the head and CEO of WhatsApp, who is overseeing development and strategy. One of the fastest-growing messaging apps acquired by Meta, it was a great example of a tech-based revolution to connect the world together with internet data. 

9. Ted Sarandos, Netflix

Ted Sarandos recently joined Netflix as co-CEO in July 2020. He handles the content operation and is responsible for media collaboration and studio management. Within 4 years, he leads the legacy of Netflix and aces the marketing to become a global entertainment company.

10. Satya Nadella, Microsoft 

Satya Nadella serves as Microsoft’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He joined Microsoft in 1992 and quickly gained a reputation as a leader capable of navigating a wide range of technologies and businesses, transforming some of Microsoft’s most significant product offerings.

11. Dough McMillion, Walmart

Dough McMillion is the CEO of Walmart Inc., an American multinational retail corporation. Under his expertise, he reshaped the brand and opened up chains of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States. 

12. Sundar Pichai, Alphabet Inc. 

Sundar Pichai, the visionary CEO of Google and Alphabet, has transformed technology with his leadership style and played a crucial role in shaping the global digital landscape. He joined Google in 2004 and played a key role in developing Google Toolbar and later Google Chrome, which became the world’s most popular internet browser.

13. Jeff Bezos, Amazon 

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer. The Seattle-based company sells electronics, household goods, and other products through its main website. Additionally, it owns the Whole Foods grocery chain and provides cloud computing and streaming services.

14. Kevin Systrom, Instagram

He is one of the key leaders who made everyone scroll worldwide; Kevin Systrom is the CEO of Instagram. The platform started as a photo-sharing site and became a great tool to gear up marketing and generate leads through ads. Kevin Systrom’s expertise and proactive leadership lead to massive success.

15. Ola Källenius, Mercedes-Benz Group

Ola Källenius, a Swedish-German business executive, serves as the chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group and CEO of Mercedes-Benz. He was the first non-German to hold both positions before acquiring German citizenship.

16. James Gorman, Morgan Stanley

James Patrick Gorman, AO, an Australian-American financier, is the former CEO and current executive chairman of Morgan Stanley. Before becoming CEO, he was the firm’s Co-President and Co-Head of Strategic Planning.

17. Jamie Dimon, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Jamie Dimon holds the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a global financial services firm with assets totalling $3.2 trillion and operations worldwide. Dimon assumed the CEO role on January 1, 2006, and became Chairman of the Board one year later.

18. Akio Toyoda, Toyota 

Akio Toyoda, a Japanese business executive, is the chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation. He previously held roles as the company’s president and CEO. Toyoda is the great-grandson of Sakichi Toyoda, an industrialist, and the grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Motors.

19. Mark Schneider, Nestle 

Mark Schneider became Nestlé’s Chief Executive Officer in January 2017. Under his leadership, Nestlé has focused its strategy on high-growth categories such as coffee, pet care, and nutritional health products.

20. Neal Mohan, YouTube

Chief Executive Officer or CEO of YouTube, Indian origin – American Business Executive, he builds the top video streaming platform in the world. He operates the launch of YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, and YouTube Shorts and constantly upgrades algorithms for non-stop entertainment. 

List of Top 10 Most Famous CEOs In The World

Next, let’s throw light on famous CEOs in the world who are known for their strong determination and great efforts to build brands.

You must have already known about top CEOs Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Mukesh Ambani, Sundar Pichai, Jamie Dimon, Saya Nadella, and others, as they were part of the best-performing CEOs. Let us introduce you to others below.

Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has accumulated a fortune exceeding $80 billion. He is widely regarded as the most successful investor of the 20th and early 21st centuries, having transformed Berkshire by acquiring and revitalising struggling businesses.

Michael Miebach, Mastercard

He is the man behind building Mastercard, a hub of international payment technology. Michael Miebach is the Chief Executive officer and member of its board of directors. His vision and leadership expanded the company to recreate online payment mechanisms with real-time payments, open banking, digital identity, and other value-added services.

Andy Jassy, Amazon

Taking up Jeff Bezos’s legacy, Andy Jassy became the Chief Executive Officer of Amazon in 2021. He has been part of Amazon since 1997 and worked in marketing and other roles. One of the remarkable launches under his leadership is Amazon Web Services or AWS. 

Jensen Huang, Nvidia

Jensen Huang established NVIDIA in 1993 and has been its president, chief executive officer, and a board member since its inception. Huang has received prestigious awards such as the Robert N. Noyce Award from the Semiconductor Industry Association, the IEEE Founder’s Medal, the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award, and honorary doctorates from Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University.

Best Female CEOs In The World

We have a great example of women competing in business to place their identity as top leaders. Here, we list some of the best female CEOs in the world. 

Mary Barra, General Motors

Mary Barra is the Chief Executive Officer of General Motors; She is the first female CEO of a ‘Big Three’ automaker. She took charge of innovation and contributed towards developing electric vehicles and self-driving cars to set a standard in the industry. 

Leena Nair, Chanel

Leena Nair, former chief human resources officer of Unilever, is the global CEO of the luxury fashion brand Chanel. Her 25-year-long career journey in the FMCG sector made her a true leader and scaled up her marketing strategies to build a brand like Chanel.

Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo

One of PepsiCo’s strongest female global leaders and ex-CEO, Indra Nooyi, has handled the leadership for over 12 years. She is the first woman to make her name on the Fortune 50 company list. Indra Nooyi has been a great example of visionary ideas and marketing strategies that scale up a company’s growth and revenue.

Yamini Rangan, HubSpot

Another female who revolutionised the tech world is Yamini Rangan, Chief Executive Officer at HubSpot. Before handling the CEO role, she served as HubSpot’s first-ever CCO or Chief Customer Officer, managing the services of marketing, sales, and services teams.

Abigail Johnson, Fidelity Investments

Abigail Johnson has been CEO of Fidelity Investments since 2014, succeeding her father, and has been chairman since 2016. Her grandfather, Edward Johnson II, founded the Boston-based mutual fund giant in 1946. She holds an estimated 28.5% stake in the firm, which, as of September 2023, manages discretionary assets totalling $4.5 trillion.

Highest-Paid CEOs In The World

Apart from renowned highest-paid CEOs such as Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, and Jensen Huang, who lead the industry, withdrawing high salaries. Here, we are sharing the list of other significant names. 

Reed Hastings, Netflix

Reed Hastings is the Executive Chairman and previous CEO of Netflix, one of the top entertainment platforms. He develops the media platform to excel with technology and comes with aggressive marketing to recreate the brand. 

Doug McMillon, Walmart 

Carl Douglas McMillon, an American businessman, is the president and CEO of Walmart Inc. He also sits on the retailer’s board of directors. McMillon started his career with Walmart as a summer associate in high school and became the company’s fifth CEO in 2014.

Marc Benioff, Salesforce

Born on September 25, 1964, Marc Russell Benioff is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. Benioff is renowned as the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of the software company Salesforce and the owner of Time magazine since 2018.

Jon R. Moeller, Procter & Gamble

Jon Moeller is an American businessman who currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Procter & Gamble. Moeller has been an integral part of P&G’s leadership team for more than twenty years, contributing to developing strategies that have led to the company’s growth today.

Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer 

Albert Bourla, an American-Greek veterinarian, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company. He has been with the company since 1993, holding various executive positions across Pfizer’s divisions throughout his tenure.

Safra Catz, Oracle Corporation

Safra Ada Catz, CEO of Oracle Corporation, has been with the company since April 1999 and has been a board member since 2001. She is an Israeli-American billionaire banker and technology executive.

Greg Peters, Netflix 

Greg Peters holds the position of co-CEO at Netflix. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer. Before that, Peters was the International Development Officer at Netflix, managing global partnerships with consumer electronics companies.

Youngest CEOs in The World

Advait Thakur, Apex Infosys India

One of the youngest and smartest Indian computer programmers, Advait Thakur, was appointed as the CEO of Apex Infosys India at the age of 20. He has been a great inspiration for youngsters with his remarkable entrepreneurial career. Advait has a high passion for Artificial technology and upcoming trends in algorithms. 

Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Rooms

The second youngest self-made billionaire, Ritesh Agarwal, is the founder & CEO of OYO Rooms. His remarkable journey of stepping into the hotel business and recreating online booking to become a global brand. Ritesh revolutionised the market with his low pricing and high-quality services.

Ben Kaufman, CAMP

He is the founder and CEO of CAMP, a family experience company. Ben has been a passionate entrepreneur; he has handled the role of Chief Marketing Officer of BuzzFeed, so his unique marketing rebuilt CAMP and took it to another height quickly. 

Evan Thomas Spiegel, Snap Inc.

He was the youngest billionaire in 2015 and CEO of Snap Inc., a technology company which built Snapchat. Under his leadership, Evan eased the branding of Snap with his deep product design knowledge, expertise and experience in developing quality features.

Jared Hecht, Fundera

Jared Hecht is the co-founder and CEO of Fundera, an online marketplace for financial solutions. He aims to resolve the complicated procedure of acquiring small business loans, and Fundera comes out as an online small business lending aggregator and group messaging app. 

Chuck Robbins, Cisco Systems

Chuck Robbins is a seasoned technology executive leading Cisco towards its goal of securely connecting everything to enable endless possibilities. He became CEO in July 2015 and was elected Chair of the Board in December 2017.

Ramon L. Laguarta, PepsiCo

Ramon Laguarta holds the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer at PepsiCo. PepsiCo’s products are consumed over a billion times daily across more than 200 countries and territories. In 2022, PepsiCo recorded over $86 billion in net revenue.

Lei Jun, Xiaomi

Lei is chairman of Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker competing with Apple and Samsung. Lei Jun, a prominent technology entrepreneur in China, joined Kingsoft Corporation Limited in 1992 and has held several senior positions.

Top Indian CEOs Globally

Next, we will cover the top Indian CEO who took the position of global companies and showcase their leadership skill to the world. 

Laxman Narasimhan, Starbucks

He is an Indian-American business executive and the chief executive officer of Starbucks. It was a great business model to expand in the market with various coffee and recreate Starbucks as a luxury brand with moment marketing.

Amanpal Bhutani, GoDaddy

He is the CEO of GoDaddy, one of the top choices for domain and web hosting. He has over 20 years of experience and industry experience in technical, management, and leadership roles. GoDaddy has high global growth with the rise of digital marketing.

Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal

Aditya Mittal holds the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director at ArcelorMittal. He is the son of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who serves as the company’s executive chairman. Aditya has held the top position at the company since February 2021.

Dinesh Kumar Khara, The State Bank of India 

Dinesh Kumar Khara currently serves as the Chairman of the State Bank of India. Before assuming this position, he was the bank’s Managing Director (Global Banking & Subsidiaries). As MD (GB&S), he oversaw the Bank’s International Banking Group, Corporate, and Treasury operations.

List of Other Influential CEOs In The World

More than lakhs of businesses are operating worldwide, and the list of best CEOs in the world can go a long way. So, we might miss out on a few iconic CEOs who contribute to the growth of global giant companies and make their name. 

Here are a few other CEOs in the world whose leadership and experienced success in establishing top business models

Aliko Dangote, Dangote Group

Aliko Dangote leads the Dangote Group, which is the largest conglomerate in West Africa. The group operates in 17 African countries and dominates the cement market across the continent. One of its subsidiaries, Dangote Cement Plc, is the largest listed company in West Africa and the first Nigerian firm to be included in the Forbes Global 2000 Companies list.

Michael S. Dell, Dell Technologies

Michael is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, a global technology infrastructure company. He ranks as the 15th richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $80 billion as of December 2023.

Linda Yaccarino, X 

Linda Yaccarino, born on December 21, 1963, is an American media executive. She previously served as the chairman of global advertising & partnerships for NBCUniversal. In June 2023, Yaccarino became the chief executive officer of X Corp, succeeding Elon Musk.

Richard Fairbank, Capital One

Richard Fairbank is chairman and CEO of Capital One Financial, a prominent U.S. bank recognized for its credit cards. He oversaw the bank’s establishment in 1994, facilitating its expansion into credit card and loan services. Fairbank owns just under 1% of the bank’s shares and has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stock over the years.

Xin Zhang, SOHO China

Co-founder of SOHO China, Xin Zhang, is one of China’s most esteemed women entrepreneurs. Since the establishment of SOHO China in 1995, she has led the company to become one of the country’s most active developers of office property, with 54 million square feet of projects in Beijing and Shanghai. She is acclaimed as the “woman who built Beijing.

Kye Hyun Kyung, Samsung Electronics 

Dr. Kye Hyun Kyung has had a successful 30-year career at Samsung, where he made significant contributions to the technology and semiconductor industry. He was instrumental in developing groundbreaking products such as the Direct Rambus DRAM in 1997 and the 3D V-NAND flash in 2013.

Alexey Miller, GAZPROM

Alexey Borisovich Miller is a Russian businessman who holds key positions at Gazprom, Russia’s largest state-owned energy company and the world’s leading public energy supplier.

Daniel O’Day, Gilead Sciences

Daniel O’Day serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO at Gilead Sciences. He joined Gilead in March 2019 after a long career at Roche Pharmaceuticals, where he also held the position of CEO.

Ken Murphy, Tesco

Ken Murphy, Group CEO of Tesco, began his career at Procter & Gamble before becoming a finance director at Alliance UniChem, which later merged with Boots UK.

Vincent Pilette, Symantec

Vincent Pilette is the CEO of Gen Digital, a Fortune 500 company specializing in consumer cyber safety. He has held management positions at Logitech, Electronics for Imaging, and HP.

Markus Rauramo, Fortum

Markus Rauramo, President and CEO of Fortum, joined the company in 2012 as CFO. He oversaw Fortum’s consumer and heat businesses and led the company’s entry into recycling and waste businesses.

Yo Honma, NTT Data

Yo Honma has been President & CEO of NTT DATA Corporation since 2018. He started at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT) in 1980 and rose through the ranks to become CEO.

Wael Sawan, Shell 

Wael Sawan was appointed CEO at the beginning of 2023. He previously worked as Shell’s Director of Integrated Gas and Renewables and Energy Solutions. Sawan has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2019, when he was appointed as Upstream Director. He joined Shell in 1997.

Dr. Oliver Blume, Volkswagen Group

Oliver Blume, a German manager, serves as the CEO of Volkswagen Group and concurrently as the CEO of Porsche. He joined the Volkswagen Group in 1994 and has held management positions for brands such as Audi, Seat, Volkswagen, and Porsche.

Oliver Bäte, Allianz

Oliver, as CEO, also holds the position of chairman of Allianz SE’s board of management. He has been a management board member since 2008 and assumed the CEO role in 2015, following his tenure as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

Joaquin Duato, Johnson & Johnson

Joaquin Duato, a Spanish-American business executive, holds dual citizenship of Spain and the United States. He serves as the chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, an American multinational conglomerate.

Oliver Zipse, BMW Group

Oliver Zipse, a German business executive, has been the chairman of the BMW board of management (CEO) since August 16, 2019. Zipse has spent his entire professional career at BMW AG, joining the company in 1991 as a trainee.

Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony 

Kenichiro Yoshida, a Japanese businessman, has been the CEO of Sony since April 2018, succeeding Kazuo Hirai. Before his CEO role, Yoshida served as the company’s chief financial officer. He joined Sony in 1987 and has worked across its subsidiaries in the US and Japan.

Lu Jiajin, Industrial Bank 

Lu is an economist who has held executive positions at several large state-backed banks, including the Industrial Bank, Bank of Communications, and China Construction Bank. He also has experience working for the Postal Savings Bank of China.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., General Electric

Henry Lawrence “Larry” Culp, Jr., an American business executive, serves as chairman and CEO of General Electric and CEO of GE Aerospace. He is the first outsider to lead GE in its 126-year history. Before joining GE, Culp worked at Pall Corporation and Danaher Corporation in Washington, D.C.

Katsuya Nakanishi, Mitsubishi

Katsuya Nakanishi joined Mitsubishi in April 1985 and has held numerous key positions in the company. He was named Group CEO and Executive Vice President in April 2019 and played a critical role in the company’s growth. 

Stephen J. Squeri, American Express 

Stephen Squeri holds the CEO position at American Express, a role he has held since February 1, 2018. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as vice chairman of American Express starting in 2015 and previously worked as group president of Amex’s global corporate services group.

Other famous CEOs

• Steven D. Black – Wells Fargo
• MA Mingzhe – Ping An Insurance Group
• Ma Yongsheng -Sinopec
• Jean-Laurent Bonnafé – BNP Paribas
• David Solomon – Goldman Sachs Group
• Hua Teng Ma – Tencent Holdings
• Oliver Bäte – Allianz
• Dr. Albert Bourla – Pfizer
• Joaquin Duato – Johnson & Johnson
• Timotheus Höttges – Deutsche Telekom
• Dr. Mark Liu – Taiwan Semiconductor
• Bernard Arnault – LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
• Mr. Thomas Buberl – AXA Group
• Héctor Grisi Checa – Banco Santander
• David McKay – Royal Bank of Canada
• Brian L. Roberts – Comcast
• Anders Opedal – Equinor
• Ren Deqi – Bank of Communications
• Joe Tsai – Alibaba Group
• Bharat Masrani – TD Bank Group
• Jun Sawada – Nippon Telegraph & Tel
• Kenichiro Yoshida -Sony
• Jean Paul Terra Prates – Petrobras
• Gary Nagle – Glencore International
• Lu Jiajin – Industrial Bank
• Carlos Tavares – Stellantis
• Mr. Bai Tao – China Life Insurance
• Stephen J. Squeri – American Express

20 Best CEOs in India Shortlisted By TradeFlock Magazine