In her role as co-lead of Russell Reynolds Associates’ global practices in the areas of consumer digital, media, and digital transformation, recruiter Jana Rich has helped place executives at some of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile companies. For the second year in a row she has agreed to field an expert team for the inaugural
Fortune Fantasy Sports Executive League
. Reader team creation closes Aug. 9; scoring depends, in part, on how closely the player’s picks match those of experts like Rich.
She spoke with Fortune’s Stephanie N. Mehta about some of her choices — and the off-the-roster names she would have selected if she could build a management team from scratch.
Jana Rich:
For chief operating officer I picked Rosalind Brewer [of Wal-Mart Stores] (WMT). She’s got a job [running Sam’s Club] that’s tough as heck, and she’s nailing it. But if I could pick anyone as my COO it would Ali Rowghani, who is the COO at Twitter. He was promoted from CFO, he had been the CFO at Pixar, and mark my words one day he’ll be on your CEO list. He’s an amazing developer of teams, he knows how to operationalize on a global scale, he can execute a vision.
For utility player, I love the idea of Susan Lyne. I wouldn’t have thought of her initially but she’s been able to consistently put her ego in check and do whatever is necessary to help grow a company and scale, whether it was at Gilt or now at AOL (AOL). It’s like she’s saying, This is a team I want to be on, and it doesn’t matter what the title is next to my name. Talk about the ultimate utility player.
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In the entrepreneur in residence category I love Jack Dorsey and Victoria Ransom. Under your working definition of an entrepreneur in residence — someone who is an innovator but also can bring change to a large organization — for Victoria it may be soon to tell. I do think she’s making great inroads at Google (GOOG). Jack Dorsey, doesn’t exactly fit your definition either, but where else would you put him? I just think he’s so phenomenal. So ultimately I did pick Jack.
I thought your CMO list was the least compelling, but if I had to pick one on your list it is Beth Comstock of GE. (GE) I was looking for some more out-of-the box names like Sarah Robb O’Hagan, president of Equinox.
For designer? Tony Fadell. Yes! Yes! Yes! I think what he’s doing with Nest isn’t just about a device, but this is about a framework, and he’ll be able to do a lot of innovation around consumer, home design, and more. I think [the thermostat] is just scratching the surface.