Power Sheet – December 17, 2015

-Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins in July took over from 20-year CEO John Chambers – a tough act to follow – and so far looks as if he’ll keep building the company’s strengths. It’s on our list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for and gets about 100 applicants for each job not filled internally. Robbins is changing Cisco’s business model. There’s no saying how well he’ll succeed, but he’s tackling a job that too many CEOs are avoiding.

-MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga is famous in the world of payments but not outside it. Yet he’s leading this big, old incumbent company to record-setting performance as technology threatens to disrupt the whole industry. He has doubled revenue and profits in the past five years while investing aggressively in technology. He’s also pushing hard to win a vast pool of potential customers: the 85% of the world’s people who still pay for everything with cash. The stock is up 40% in the past two years.

-As CEO of Accenture, Pierre Nanterme is transforming the vast consulting firm for the digital age. My colleague Alan Murray described his impressive progress in yesterday’s CEO Daily newsletter. Accenture is also on our 100 Best Companies to Work For ranking, in part because Nanterme is making the typical consultant’s punishing work life a bit more humane through more flexible hours. It’s a smart move in an industry where winning the war for talent is just about the whole game.

-Everybody knows Wal-Mart is America’s biggest retailer, but few know that Costco is No. 2 – and even fewer know that Craig Jelinek has been CEO for nearly four years. Following the legendary Jim Sinegal isn’t easy, but Jelinek has kept revenue and profits growing at the huge company. Customers and employees are extraordinarily loyal. The business people we survey for our ranking of the World’s Most Admired Companies say Costco is the No. 1 specialty retailer by a mile.

How many of these four leaders did you know about? Bad performance makes news. Sometimes excellent performance has to be sought out.

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What We're Reading Today

Cerberus nears $170M deal for Avon's N.A. business

The purchase would give Steve Feinberg's Cerberus Capital Management an 80% stake in Avon's North American operation. The private equity firm will also pay $435 million for a 17% stake in Avon and receive three board seats. Avon has a market value of $1.8 billion. Activist investors led by Barington Capital Group have called for Avon to cut costs and fire CEO Sheri McCoy. WSJ

California issues rules for self-driving cars...

...and Google parent Alphabet isn't pleased. The draft rules, issued by California's Department of Motor Vehicles, require manufacturers to receive certification and pass cybersecurity tests. The big problem is that they require a licensed driver in the front seat. The self-driving car unit of Larry Page's and Sergey Brin's company issued a statement saying, "We’re gravely disappointed that California is already writing a ceiling on the potential for fully self-driving cars to help all of us who live here." Re/code

Banks and tech companies unite to bypass bitcoin

Companies including IBM, Intel, Cisco, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and others have agreed to work together to build an alternative to the blockchain, the global online ledger that tracks and allows for exchanges of assets. IBM chief technology officer Jerry Cuomo says the Open Ledger Project is an effort to make blockchain design relevant for business.  Wired

Las Vegas Review-Journal meets its owner

For the past week, employees at the Las Vegas newspaper wanted to know who would sign their checks after the paper was bought for $140 million. Turns out it's Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO Sheldon Adelson. He is a major Republican donor in a swing state, prompting speculation that he bought the paper for political purposes. Fortune

Building a Better Leader

When mission and money conflict

As startups grow, the search for profit can overtake the company's mission. This CEO says you should embrace the mission. Fast Company

In your first job...

...don't link your salary to your feeling of worth. Your paycheck doesn't define your early success. Fortune

This company allows employees to direct donations 

Each employee at Cummings Properties gets $1,000 to donate to a local charity each year, giving the employees a stake in the giving. Quartz

Under Investigation

Martin Shkreli arrested on securities fraud charges

The young pharmaceutical CEO has been accused of using complex maneuvers to plunder Retrophin, a biotech company he founded in 2011, before becoming CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. Prosecutors say Shkreli, who was fired from Retrophin last year, used the proceeds to pay debts from a defunct hedge fund he had launched. Shkreli has been outspoken in defending Turing's practice of buying the rights to drugs and dramatically raising the prices. Bloomberg

Defense Secretary emailed using a personal account

Secretary Ash Carter used a personal email account for official business for at least two months after Hillary Clinton's use of personal email as Secretary of State became public. It's unclear how long it lasted and how many emails Carter sent from his personal account. NYT

EU investigating Volkswagen over loan use

The European Union's anti-fraud agency is investigating whether loans obtained by VW from EU's member bank for “improving environmental performance” were used for their stated purposes. While the investigation hasn't reached any conclusions, it's a new problem stemming from the emissions scandal that CEO Matthias Müller is struggling to contain.  Financial Times

Up or Out

Former Intel president Renée James has joined the Oracle board of directors.  Fortune

Ulrich Eichhorn will become Volkswagen's new research and development chief as  part of a large reshuffling of CEO Matthias Müller's team, which has also included  appointing Fred Kappler head of group sales, Michael Mauer head of group design, and Wolfram Thomas head of group production. Reuters

Fortune Reads and Videos

CVS bashes Walgreens-Valeant deal

CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo says the pricing and distribution pact will increase costs for consumers. It's probably not great for CVS either. Fortune

John McCain isn't happy with the new budget deal

It's because of a provision that would temporarily suspend a ban on using Russian-made rocket engines.  Fortune

eBay finds a new market...

...in shopping malls. The e-commerce company will set up pop-up stores in Westfield Malls so shoppers can sell unwanted holiday gifts.  Fortune

The list of deals that Donald Trump has lost...

...since running for president keeps growing. Business partners really don't like what he's saying. Fortune

Happy Birthday

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