We don't talk often enough about our leaders and how they influence our lives. The chief executives of America are some of the best and brightest around. Old and new companies are led today by the smartest strategists. The most valuable companies on earth are right here in the "land of plenty" -- no wonder the rest of the planet is so jealous.
With so much doubt and uncertainty surrounding our economy, we don't give enough credit to our leaders. Sadly, our leaders in Washington pale in comparison to the leaders of our companies. Even the marginal ones. But we are fortunate to have so many managers with great skills to navigate through rough economic waters.
It's no accident that Jim Cramer interviews many CEO's each week on his " Mad Money" program. He knows we have the best and wants to learn from them. We need strong leadership to carry our markets and the economy forward.
Our business leaders span different industries, ages, genders and races. The team of leaders represents the great melting pot of the United States. We could spend pages talking about the great leadership that exists; there are so many strong ones. Here I will recognize some of the difference-makers and the leaders who really make this engine run. The creme de la creme.
Starting at the top we have Apple's ( AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, a brilliant operating manager, who took the baton from the late Steve Jobs and has never disappointed shareholders. Then there's Jeff Bezos of Amazon ( AMZN) . His story is as legendary as he continues to build the best online retailer on the planet.
Dara Khosroshahi of Uber ( UBER) is a fantastic leader, having worked wonders at Expedia ( EXPE) . His innovations at Uber will eventually pay off. Elon Musk is a spectacular leader for Tesla ( TSLA) , a dreamer and thinker of big things. Facebook's ( FB) Mark Zuckerberg is the envy of all social media platforms and with over two billion people engaged on Facebook's platforms each day, it is positioned for world domination. JPMorgan Chase ( JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is the best there is, the biggest bank of them all. They stepped up when needed during the financial crisis, and remain the best-run bank in the world.
But the list goes far beyond those household names. We also have Marillyn Hewson who heads up Lockheed Martin ( LMT) , the strongest defense name in the country. And Arne Sorenson leads Marriott ( MAR) , a franchise that has been around for nearly 90 years. The brands are incredible and Sorenson is the first CEO who is not a member of the Marriott family.
Oscar Munoz has led United Airlines ( UAL) through some rough times and a merger with Continental. His leadership has restored the pride and joy of flying the friendly skies. Carnival Cruise Lines ( CCL) CEO Arnold Donald is a central figure in travel and leisure and has built his company into the finest travel firm in the business. Lisa Su has put together an amazing comeback for Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD) . When she was appointed CEO in 2014, the stock was under $2 per share. Now the stock is right near $40 bucks, more than a 1,000% return on her watch. The current CEO of Pier 1 Imports ( PIR) is Cheryl Bachelder, who last managed Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and sold the firm to Restaurant Brands International ( QSR) for over $70 a share. She took over when the stock was trading at $7, another 1,000% return.
These are just a small sample of the amazing CEO's in the U.S. The leaders continue to grow and adapt to a challenging environment. We as consumers and investors are much better for them. Thank you to our stellar leaders for their hard work.
(Apple, Amazon, Facebook and JPMorgan Chase are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells these stocks? Learn more now.)
