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Published: Jun 03, 2007 12:30 AM
Modified: Jun 03, 2007 07:24 AM
Here's the good news: You don't have to be good at math to become the CEO of a company. Almost universally, the CEOs of this year's top 10 corporations said they hated calculus in school. They preferred courses in liberal arts, economics, marketing and politics, perhaps foreshadowing their future career choices.
"I never had enough patience to think about calculus," said Reynolds American CEO Susan M. Ivey. "But the consumer behavior part of what we do, it connects psychology and the marketing."
Wanting to know if there was common ground among the CEOs of this year's top companies, we talked to as many as we could track down about their personal lives, workout routines and the way technology helps them do their jobs.
With only one exception, all of them said the thing they can't do without is their Blackberry wireless device, and many credited Blackberries for changing the way they do business. The lone exception, Stephen P. Zelnak Jr., of Martin Marietta Materials, said he couldn't live without his e-mail, so we'll call that a consensus.
"Even cell phones didn't transform it like this," said Duke Energy CEO James E. Rogers. "With e-mails, there's no chatter. You deal directly with the business and move on. You can do it any time, any place. I've done it in the theater, in an opera."
Other things this year's top CEOs had in common include a passion for exercise, the desire for more family time and a whole lot of frequent flyer miles.
But they also had some differences and some unique insights into themselves.
Mackey J. McDonald, 60
VF Corp., Carolinas 100 rank: 2
Favorite quote: "You learn by listening, not talking." -- Unknown
Yes, Mackey McDonald has an iPod.
And he'd better like what's on it, because he has no idea how to change the songs if he doesn't.
"What's on my iPod? Whatever Mackey Jr. put on it," he said. "It's mostly '60s and '70s. He picked out things he thought I would like."
When McDonald isn't grooving to Otis Redding, he is likely to be firing e-mails out on his Blackberry or working out.
He's a former runner and once took to the track four or five times a week.
Though he still tries to work out that often, running is out now.
Instead, he settles for lower-impact athletics, including weights and time on the elliptical machine. Workouts typically start at 5:30 a.m.
But he still wishes he could run like he used to. When asked what he wants more than anything else, McDonald didn't hesitate.
"A right knee."
Stephen P. Zelnak Jr., 62
Martin Marietta Materials, Carolinas 100 rank: 9
Favorite quote: None
Steve Zelnak is a practical kind of guy.
Most weekends his Saturday routine involves a trip to Bojangles' for breakfast and then a stop at Best Buy or Lowe's Home Improvement, or both.
"I've always got some projects going on," he said. "I like to do things with my hands."
At the moment, he's building a mud room and garage at his Lake Gaston house.
He has hired a contractor to do the construction but insists on doing the painting himself.
"I find it relaxing, but also I'm a better painter than the people we're hiring," he said. "And it's our house, so I'm going to be more meticulous."
Zelnak has always liked physical activity, playing tennis, basketball and freshman baseball at Georgia Tech -- "until I discovered real curveballs."
Instead, he does a lot of aerobic exercise now, running the treadmill, using the stairmaster and an exercise bike.
But unlike a lot of his early-rising, Type A CEO counterparts, Zelnak prefers to work out in the evenings.
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On vacation in Italy with his son Ryan, SPX CEO Chris Kearney, right, sports his ever-present Blackberry on his hip.
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