William Gates' Microsoft followed with share growth of 526 percent. Trailing the leaders were Philip Knight's Nike at 446 percent and Donald Fisher's The Gap at 412 percent. Merck's Roy Vagelos is CEO's 1992 Chief Executive of the Year. There are several reasons the CEO has a significant impact on shareholder value. First, the CEO decides how important stock-price growth is as a goal.
Many companies put customers, employees, and staying independent ahead of shareholder awards.
Second, CEOs vary in their approach to increasing value and stock price. Third, some CEOs are adept at driving the company forward operationally. Fourth, some CEOs employ special strategies to maximize stock-price growth. Strong management hardly guarantees investment gains.