At Google, billionaire cofounder and CEO Larry Page, 42, eats in the company’s free cafeterias just like the search giant’s other employees, often sharing a table with junior staffers. He also makes a habit of walking around the company’s Mountain View campus. And he’s been a whole-hearted supporter of Google’s famously generous employee policies, including a perk instituted in June 2014 that is among the nation’s most generous benefits for new fathers. Google gives 12 weeks of paid leave to new dads and same-sex nonbiological mothers who identify as primary caregivers of a new child. New moms already get 18 weeks of paid leave.
Page’s open, populist management style and his embrace of generous employee perks have landed him at the top of a new list of highest-rated big-company CEOs released by jobs website Glassdoor. Ninety-seven percent of Glassdoor users who filled out company reviews said they approve of the way Page is running Google. This is the sixth year that Glassdoor has released a CEO ranking and the first year Page has landed in first place. Last year he came in 11th with a 93% approval rating.
To be considered for the list, a company must have a workforce of more than 1,000 and at least 100 current and former employees need to have filled out surveys between April 22, 2014 and April 21, 2015. More than 300 companies qualified for consideration this year.
Seven-year-old Glassdoor, based in Mill Valley, CA, has pioneered a unique model among jobs websites. Its content, which includes employment listings, salary information and TripAdvisor-like company reviews, is free to users for the first 30 days. If they want continued access, users have to provide a photo of their workplace, fill out a salary report, or do a company review with some 20 questions, including, “Do you approve of the way your CEO is leading the company?” Among the 400,000 CEO reviews Glassdoor has on file, the average rating is 69%. (Glassdoor calculates ratings to a thousandth of a point, which is why a number of companies appear to be tied on this year’s list.)
Last year the top-rated CEO was LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner, who remains very popular, coming in 12th on this year’s list with a 93% approval rating. Employees appreciate his bi-weekly all-hands meetings where 7,600 employees from its 30 offices around the world beam into an hour-long session.
The No. 2 and No. 3 CEOs this year were absent in 2014 because they didn’t get enough reviews. Nike’s Mark Parker, 59, CEO since 2006, got a 97% approval rating from employees who used words like “inspiring” and “amazing” to describe their boss. They also praised his support for gay rights. Before May 2014 when gay marriage became legal in Oregon as a result of a federal judge’s decision, Nike set up a foundation to raise money to support marriage equality that included $180,000 donated by Nike executives. In 2012 Nike introduced the #BETRUE collection of shoes and t-shirts with a rainbow motif celebrating LGBT athletes. Employees also praise Parker’s open, collaborative style. Like Google’s Page, he has a reputation for mingling with employees.
Charles C. Butt, the CEO of privately-held San Antonio-based grocery chain HEB, came in third, with a 96% rating. Employees praise Butt’s vision and concern for employees. HEB, also known as HE Butt, was founded in 1905 by his grandmother, Florence Butt, after her husband contracted tuberculosis and couldn’t work. Charles started as a bag boy at age eight, has run the company since 1971 and is its majority shareholder. His $11.1 billion fortune puts him on the Forbes 400, but employees still describe him as accessible.
Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg lands in fourth place this year with a 95% rating, up from 10th last year when 93% of survey respondents approved of his performance. One employee this year described him as “a legend in his own time,” and praised the Friday Q&As he holds with staffers.
One change on this year’s list, compared with last year’s: No women CEOs rank in the top 50. Last year two women, Sharen Turney of Victoria’s Secret and Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, made the cut. But the lack of women should be no surprise given that they still hold only 26, or 4.6%, of the CEO posts at S&P 500 companies.
See our slideshow above for the top 20 bosses and click here to see the top 50 on Glassdoor’s site.
