businessperson of the year 2019

<strong>“Lead from the back,”</strong> Nelson Mandela famously said, “and let others believe they are in front.” In a year dominated by political chaos and bluster, it was a rare brand of steady—even quiet— leadership that won the day in the business world. And no one epitomizes that brand of obsessively results-driven, team-based leadership more than our new No. 1 Businessperson of the Year. To create our annual list, we first screen for results, looking at 10 financial factors ranging from total return to shareholders to return on capital. Then we search for the standouts. The leaders who tackled audacious goals, overcame impossible odds, found creative solutions. Read on for how they—and their companies— thrived in 2019. You just might learn something about tackling a challenge of your own.

Satya Nadella

Elizabeth Gaines

Brian Niccol

Margaret Keane

Bjørn Gulden

Tricia Griffith

Fabrizio Freda

Ajay Banga

W. Craig Jelinek

Jamie Dimon

Daniel Schulman

Tom Linebarger

Robert Greenberg

Joey Wat

Julie Sweet

Daniel Zhang

Strauss Zelnick

Jayshree Ullal

Gary Guthart

Chen Lin

legacy

Fortune chooses its 2018 Businessperson of the Year, along with 19 other star executives that are defining the future of business.

Businessperson of the Year 2018

Rank

Businessperson of the Year 2019