• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

3

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

Erin Burnett’s corporate “Dream Team”

Fortune Editors
By
Fortune Editors
Fortune Editors
Down Arrow Button Icon
Fortune Editors
By
Fortune Editors
Fortune Editors
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 25, 2011, 11:49 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

In the Sept. 5 issue of Fortune, we imagined a new kind of fantasy league: one focused on business leaders, where the stats are ruled more by market cap and earnings per share than on-base percentage and earned run averages. (See Fortune’s fantasy executive league picks here.)

We want to know whom you would pick. (Pick your own executive Dream Team here.) But to give you some help, we’ve asked for the picks of three guest team managers: a guru each in management, investing, and business news on television. Today, we give you our biz news whiz, Erin Burnett.

Erin Burnett recently rejoined CNN as an anchor of an upcoming news show and as its chief business and economics correspondent. She’s a seasoned business news veteran who’s led shows for CNBC and appeared on numerous other programs and in documentaries. Her strategy? Draft a team with global experience. While each embodies the American ‘can-do’ spirit, all can offer understanding of different cultures, a trait Burnett believes “imperative for business success today.”

CEO — Vikram Pandit, Citigroup (C)

Burnett: Pandit took over what was America’s biggest bank as it teetered on the cliff of failure. He not only turned it around, but also made employees proud to work at Citigroup, something lacking before thanks to multiple, poorly executed mergers. Pandit is a quiet and firm leader who works as hard as anyone at the company and has passion for finishing a job (he took $1 salary while Citi was beholden to Uncle Sam and U.S. taxpayers). And above all this, he’s a leader who allows those around him to shine — and my list has some people who shine.

CFO — Lewis Booth, Ford Motor Co (F)

Burnett: Steered Ford through the financial crisis sans bailout. Enough said.

Non-exec chair — Jim Owens, Caterpillar (CAT)

Burnett: Owens has a Ph.D. in economics and spent his career at Caterpillar [Fortune note: Owens retired from his role as CEO and then Chairman in 2010]. He called an upcoming deep recession before anyone else and that day the Dow registered its first big drop. This was nearly a year before Lehman. He also planned and supported a transition to his Caterpillar successor, CEO Doug Oberhelman, a signal he can lead and work with others.

CMO — John Hayes, American Express (AXP)

Burnett: This is the hardest position for me: modern advertising is in flux and brands like Google and Twitter don’t need it at all. So I am taking a risk on this position and going with John Hayes, CMO of American Express. He turned a commodity item into something that delivers specific, valuable benefits.

Chief Designer — Jonathan Ive, Apple (AAPL)

Burnett: Apple is the obvious choice and in this case, I believe the right one. Its consistent and clean design has defined our age. Apple is, on any given day, the most valuable company in America. Everywhere I travel, children know ‘iPod, iPhone!’ Apple is the physical embodiment of American exceptionalism right now to much of the world.

CIO — John Tracy, Boeing (BA)

Burnett: America’s biggest exporter is a key target for foreign intelligence hacking given its defense contracts and operations around the world. The person who keeps that information safe and enables its workforce to operate globally is the IT person I want on my dream team.

Chief People Officer — Abdulaziz Al Ali, Emirates Group

Burnett: Every Emirates flight has English and up to 14 other languages spoken by professional, customer service dedicated staff. Recruiting globally for motivated, hard-working young men and women who can face clients is what most companies say is their hardest task and Emirates is the only company that’s got that down. They’re the world’s best airline because of it.

Click here to vote for your own dream team.

About the Author
Fortune Editors
By Fortune Editors
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Management

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
1 day ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
6 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
10 hours ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.