How we select the CEO of the Year

Electronic Business bestows this honor on CEOs who have not only done an exemplary job of running their companies, but who have also shown leadership in their industry. They also must exhibit the highest degree of integrity and ethics.

To find this person, we used a three-step process: Step 1: Nomination by peers The first step involved sending out a letter and nomination form to the CEOs of the Electronic Business 250, the 250 largest publicly held, U.S.-based electronics companies (see our Web site at http://www.ebmag.com/registrd/issues/9907/0799top.htm for the complete list). Interested parties could also go to our Web site to get information on the nomination process.

Nominations were accepted during September and early October. EB staffers also nominated executives. We asked nominators to use the following criteria in making their selections:

Financial performance of the company

Ability to motivate employees

Skill at building partnerships with suppliers and customers

Acumen in mergers and/or acquisitions

Reputation for honesty and integrity Ability to address a major strategic challenge successfully

Ability to capitalize on long-term technology trends ahead of the market

Step 2: Financial performance Based on the results of the nominations, we developed a short list of candidates. We then analyzed the performance of their companies and their strategic business moves of the past year.

Step 3: Other factors Lastly, there was a review of qualitative factors for the finalists conducted by the Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Business. This included an evaluation of the integrity, innovation and respect that the candidates have among their peers, other senior industry executives and analysts.

-Kathleen Doler, Editor-in-Chief