The CEO Branding Mix

What do Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have in common? They are not only CEOs and living icons of the brands they created but also brands themselves. There are many reasons why CEOs today get more attention than in the past. When the media are looking for a business story they often turn to CEOs or founders. Some companies are larger than countries in terms of number of citizens or employees or in revenue. For example, Walmart has about 2.2 million employees, comparable to the population of Qatar, Namibia, or Slovenia, and its revenues are larger than the GDP of Singapore, Denmark, or South-Africa. Like movie stars who signal and generate expectations about the success of a forthcoming movie, so too do CEOs herald company performance expectations to the market and specifically to shareholders. Their personas and personality impact their image and reputation which are tied to their organizations’ reputation