Google boss Sundar Pichai named most reputable CEO

A study by the Reputation Institute has ranked the top ten chief executives

Google boss Sundar Pichai has been named the world’s most reputable chief executive.
Google boss Sundar Pichai has been named the world’s most reputable chief executive.

Google boss Sundar Pichai has been named the world's most reputable chief executive in a study by the Reputation Institute.

Pichai “stands out for his responsible leadership and is viewed as excellent on the merits of fiscal, social and environmental responsibility”, the institute said.

Denise Morrison of the Campbell Soup Company and Tatsumi Kimishima of Nintendo received honourable mentions among the world's top 10 most reputable CEOs.

The study was based on more than 28,000 individual ratings collected in the first quarter of 2018 across the G15 economies. It includes insights into the dynamics behind reputational impact.

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It shows what drives CEO reputation, the direct correlation between corporate reputation and stakeholder support.

“The rubric for what it takes to be a great leader is quickly shifting,” said Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, chief reputation officer at Reputation Institute. “Assessing a CEO’s performance based solely on financial returns is no longer enough,” he said.

“There is a new era emerging in which the intangibles of reputation are driving political, social and economic change, and giving CEOs reason to reconsider their role as a leader. To be relevant as a contemporary leader today, you need to be a CEO with conscience.”

The results show strong leadership across a range of industries internationally, including financial services, technology, food and beverage, consumer and hospitality.

Within the global study, six of the top 10 CEOs are executives of US companies and three are CEOs of European businesses.

The list of top 10 business leaders globally recognised (in alphabetical order) are:

• Giorgio Armani of Giorgio Armani

• Keith Barr of InterContinental Hotels Group

• Fabrizio Freda of the Esteé Lauder Company

• Ralph Hamers of ING

• Bernard Hess of the Kraft Heinz Company

• Tatsumi Kimishima of Nintendo

• Denise Morrison of Campbell Soup Company

• Sundar Pichai of Google

• Dirk Van de Put of Mondelez International

• Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter