The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business Issue

 

How women nabbed the top jobs at PepsiCo, Kraft, and more. PLUS: CEO briefings

 

Ranking the most powerful.

 

The rising stars, highest paid, and more.

 

Clobbered by Wall Street. Fierce competition from Google. Meg Whitman's had a rough couple years. Here's how she's trying to turn eBay from ultra-hot to built-to-last. “I don't want to be Pollyannaish about this, but from the beginning we have [emphasized that] the stock price is not necessarily the only measure one should focus on,” she says. Employees understand, she adds, that they're helping eBay's buyers and sellers make a living and that they're making a difference. The looming challenge is to mesh that mission with the inexorable drag of size and age—and the double-barreled threat of new markets and new competition.

 

Pat Woertz: The Outsider, by Jon Birger, page 166

Archer Daniels Midland's new CEO is a newcomer to the company. Will her ethanol-based plan for the future keep working? ADM is a $37 billion food-processing company that, on account of also being the nation's top ethanol producer, has evolved into one of Wall Street's hottest alternative-energy plays. In her first major interview since right after starting the ADM job in May, Woertz explains ethanol is “a here and now,” whereas other energy alternatives “are a lot longer down the road.” Problem is, alternative-energy boom or not, ADM is still in the commodities business. A continued drop in the price of oil, with a sharp rise in corn or soy, would put a quick end to Woertz's corner-office honeymoon.

 

The Women of Viacom, by Patricia Sellers, page 180

Sumner Redstone is Viacom's main man, but the media giant's biggest brands are run by women. FORTUNE talks with the heads of MTV, BET, Paramount , and Nickelodeon.

 

•  On the firing of Tom Freston, and whether or not she's planning to stay, Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO, MTV Networks responds: “Well, you know, I'm here. And I'll be back tomorrow. Look, I'm in it to win it.”

 

•  Regarding Redstone's decision to cut ties with Tom Cruise, Gail Berman, President of Paramount Pictures says: “The chairman is entitled to his opinion and is entitled to run his business. We're employees of the chairman. If he chooses to do something, that's his prerogative. Life goes on. That's the reality of executive life. That's the lesson.”

 

•  On whether or not Viacom should have bought MySpace, Zarghami responds: “There's always a lot of ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda.' I have great respect for MySpace. It's symbolic of an incredible change in youth entertainment. But I'm not sure it's the be-all and end-all.”

 

Leaders of the Pack, by Eugenia Levenson, page 189

How three firms spotted a critical mass of female talent.

 

The Global Power 50, page 191

The top international business women.

 

 

Can BP Bounce Back, by Nelson D. Schwartz, page 90

A disastrous leak. A deadly explosion. CEO John Browne must turn his troubled oil giant around, but time is running out. “There has been a monumental shift for the company,” says Browne. “We need to ask what we should do differently.”

 

How could a company that has made being green a core part of its identity, even rebranding itself as “Beyond Petroleum,” suffer within one year both the worst oil spill in the history of the North Slope and the worst U.S. refinery accident in more than a decade? The answer is clear to some current and former BP employees, union reps, and other whistleblowers interviewed by FORTUNE. Until recently, they say, BP's internal culture was characterized by intense pressure to keep costs down, and budgeting often took precedence over routine maintenance and occasionally over safety . “The catchword we heard was ‘managed risk,'” says Kristjan Dye, the leader of the United Steelworkers local at Prudhoe Bay . “If you pointed out problems, you weren't told to shut up. You could bring it up—but it might not get fixed.”

 

The (Second) Worst Deal Ever, by Shawn Tully, page 102

In the biggest M&A blunder since AOL/Time Warner, Boston Scientific paid too high a price to snatch Guidant away from archrival Johnson & Johnson. Since it announced the bid for Guidant last December, Boston 's stock has dropped a stunning 46%, wiping out $18 billion in shareholder value in a matter of months. Today, Boston CEO, Jim Tobin tells FORTUNE Guidant's operations are producing zero profit. That's right, Boston is earning zip on a multibillion dollar investment. Part of the reason is that Tobin hasn't cut expenses to match the steep drop in sales. “We need to spend in a way that will solve our product problems and maintain our excellent sales force until the market bounces back,” he says. But it will take more than an uptick in sales to rescue Boston from this fiasco.

 

The New Face of Labor, by Rik Kirkland, page 122

There's a reason organized labor is suddenly showing signs of life. His name is Andy Stern . He's like no union boss you've ever seen. While most labor generals have spent their careers waging the Long Retreat—the percentage of U.S. workers who belong to a union has fallen from a third in 1950 to barely 12% today—Stern stands out as a leader who knows how to attack. And win. “We're going through the most profound, the most transformative economic revolution any generation has ever experienced,” says Stern. “You either change to make history, or stick to the status quo and become history.”

 

DEPARTMENTS

FIRST China Takes a Break After years of courting foreign investment, Beijing may be losing its ardor for capital. The Regulators Is Connecticut attorney general Dick Blumenthal the next Eliot Spitzer? On the Radar Lockheed buzzes our allies…Aramark tests the debt market…States take aim at eminent domain. Coffee With Mark Hurd HP'a chief executive—by turns combative, evasive, and dismissive—finally lets down his guard. A Moneyman's New Scam Defrocked advisor-to-the-stars Dana Giacchetto is in hot water again. DISPATCHES Afghanomics Five years after the war, Kabul is showing some modest signs of economic life. The Axis of Diesel Mercedes, GM, and even Honda are betting on a new breed of green diesel cars. The goal? To leave hybrids in the dust. COLUMNISTS Street Life Despite the meltdown at Amaranth, it's hedge fund business as usual. Why investors are missing the big lesson. Value Driven Our man has a plan to help Mark Hurd get HP back on track. While You Were Out Who wants to work with people who leak like colanders? INVESTING Bargain Hunt: Five Flat Stocks Ready to Rebound They lagged as the market steamed ahead, but these companies are now intriguing plays for investors. Eight Great Year-End Moves Here's a painless eight-step program to protect your financial future (and help you take advantage of new tax twists). BUSINESS LIFE The Secrets to Smarter Travel Delays, hassles, indignities: Business travel is more trying than ever. But our survival guide can help you rule the road. Gadgets On the go, lightly: Lilliputian gear for travelers.

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For further information please contact:
Susan Brown Williams
212-522-0133
susan_williams@timeinc.com

Phil DiIanni
212-522-6282
phil_diianni@timeinc.com

 

 

 

 

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