Donnelley's position as one of the largest printing companies in the industry compelled us to explore some of the characteristics needed for a leader of a multi-billion dollar company. Gail Nickel-Kailing, WTT correspondent, looks at a few of history's greatest CEOs and CEOs of some of today's great companies. Gail also takes a brief look at the Heidrick and Struggles' search and some advice from the commercial print industry's own - Frank Romano.

Headquartered in Chicago, Ill., R.R. Donnelley serves a global customer market and has 30,000 employees in more than 200 locations in North America, South America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific Basin.

Five of the Greatest CEO Ever - from Fortune Magazine

General Electric's first president didn't see himself as a genius; he came from the shoe business. But Coffin knew his job was not to be the next Thomas Edison—though Coffin, too, would prove a master inventor. His invention was the General Electric Co. More than any other leader, Coffin made GE into a great company, creating the machine that created a succession of giants.

An understated lawyer who said he wasn't qualified for the job, Bill Allen never saw Boeing as a bomber company. It was the company whose engineers built amazing flying machines. Allen thought bigger—and left a legacy to match.

'I have the personality of a promoter,' the Wal-Mart founder wrote, but 'the soul of an operator.' Yet Walton himself refused to let his colorful personality distract from his central message: to make better things ever more affordable to people of lesser means. And before his death in 1992, he made two brilliant moves to ensure that idea would outlast him. First, he set a goal that he knew would be unachievable in his lifetime: to grow annual sales from less than $30 billion to $125 billion by the year 2000. Second, so that no personality would become bigger than the idea, he picked a successor who had seemingly undergone a charisma bypass. Under David Glass, Wal-Mart blew right past the $125 billion goal, clocking in at $165 billion in 2000.

The Merck & Co. boss didn't worry about Wall Street—and grew profits 50-fold. Austere and patrician, he simply believed that the purpose of a corporation is to do something useful, and to do it very well. It's the mirror image of CEOs whose unhealthy fixations with Wall Street have served neither people nor profits: Merck served shareholders so well precisely because he served others first.

When he became CEO of Kimberly-Clark in 1971, Smith faced a brutal fact: The company languished in mediocrity, the bulk of its capital tied up in giant paper mills. Yet Smith offered no vision statement, no splashy acquisition, no hoopla-laden change program. Instead he posed questions. What could Kimberly-Clark be passionate about? What could it be best at in the world? What could improve its economics? For months he continued to ask questions.

"We're going to sell the mills." Smith jettisoned 100 years of corporate history, right down to the original mill in Kimberly, Wis. And Smith got it right. Twenty-five years after Smith became CEO, Kimberly-Clark was the world's No. 1 paper-based consumer-products company -- its stock outperforming the market by a factor of four over that span -- and owned its main rival, Scott Paper, outright.

What characteristics did these leaders have? Think big – really big! Be passionate. Focus on what your company does best.

What kind of person heads up today's multi-billion dollar companies? Five CEOs from the Graphic Arts Industry.

Carly Fiorina brought HP an unusual assortment of talents and skills. Prior to joining HP in 1999, Fiorina spent nearly 20 years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies. At Lucent, she expanded the company's international business and spearheaded the planning and execution of its initial public offering and subsequent spin-off from AT&T.

Fiorina's educational background is most unusual. She holds a bachelor's degree in medieval history and philosophy from Stanford University; made a start at a law degree; received a master's degree in business administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland at College Park, Md.; and a Master of Science degree from MIT's Sloan School.

“A strategic visionary who could create excitement and buy-in with customers and her management team, while also being good at being able to follow up with tactical goals to make sure that good things really happened.” ( Perfect Enough , George Anders, 2003, p. 58.)

Xerox: Anne Mulcahy, Chairman of the Board and CEO

Anne Mulcahy has tenure of more than 26 years with Xerox Corporation, and was named CEO of Xerox in 2001 and chairman in 2002. She was president and chief operating officer of Xerox from 2000 through 2001. Prior to that, she was president of Xerox's General Markets Operations, which created and sold products for reseller, dealer and retail channels.

Mulcahy has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Journalism from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY.

“Anne is open, communicative, and honest to a fault. Though she began her career in sales, Mulcahy cannot spin to save her life. ‘If Anne disagrees or thinks that an idea is bullshit, you can always see it in her face. I'd say, 'Okay, Anne, let's have it'--and she gives it to you,' says former CEO Paul Allaire, who stepped into the job briefly [after Rick Thoman left].” (CEOS Under Fire: The New Breed, Patricia Sellers, FORTUNE, November 3, 2002)

Stephanie Streeter was named CEO and President in October 2002. She spent 15 years at global office products leader Avery Dennison. There she advanced from an assistant product manager through progressively senior roles of increasing scope and responsibility, ultimately reaching the position of Group Vice President for Avery's Worldwide Office Products Group. Immediately prior to joining Banta, Streeter was Chief Operating Officer of idealab!, a Pasadena-based Internet company. She is a graduate of Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science.

"Since Stephanie joined Banta ... she has done an outstanding job of guiding our global operations through a very challenging economic period. Her leadership strength, fiscal discipline and commitment to Banta's growth strategy have contributed significantly to the Corporation's strong operating performance," said Donald D. Belcher, Banta Chairman and former CEO.

Now with nearly 30 years' tenure, Neal joined Avery Dennison in 1974 as controller and was named vice president a year later. He held a number of executive positions including CFO. Prior to joining Avery Dennison, Mr. Neal was associated with McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles.

Philip Neal was awarded a master's degree in Business Administration in 1966 from Stanford University after graduating from Pomona College in 1964 with a degree in Economics.

Angelson was the principal architect of the merger between Moore Corporation Limited and Wallace Computer Services, Inc. Prior to joining Moore in December 2002 as CEO, Angelson served as Moore's non-executive Chairman and Lead Independent Director. Previously, Angelson served as Deputy Chairman of Chancery Lane Capital, the New York-based private equity investment firm that orchestrated Chancery Lane/GSC Partners' investment in Moore in late 2000 and recruited the Moore management team.

From 1996 until 2001, Angelson served in various capacities, including as executive Deputy Chairman, at Big Flower Holdings (NYSE: BGF), a printing and advertising services holding company. At Big Flower, he orchestrated approximately 30 acquisitions and related financings and the $2.0 billion leveraged recapitalization and sale of control of the company to Thomas H. Lee Fund IV and Evercore Capital Partners.

Angelson was educated at Rutgers College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and at Rutgers Law School.

These five CEOs have diverse backgrounds and skills. Fiorina is an industry outsider and strategic thinker. Mulcahy is a company woman and an expert in operations and human resources. Streeter has excellent operational skills. Neal is a company man and finance expert. Angelson, a company outsider though from the industry, is a mergers and acquisitions pro.

What do these leaders have in common? Whether an insider or outsider, they think big, focus on their company's resources, and on the job at hand.

According to a Chicago Tribune article, dated August 3, Heidrick & Struggles Vice Chairman John Gardner said, the board is looking for a leader "who can fine-tune the strategic course and make sure the operational excellence continues." Gardner's partner in the search is the firm's senior chairman, Gerry Roche, a recruiter with a fondness for General Electric candidates and who doesn't hesitate to recruit across industries. It should be noted that R.R. Donnelley has a strong "bench" with several qualified executives within the company.

Whether the new CEO is from inside or outside the industry, from GE or Donnelley itself; Frank Romano, Fawcett Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology School of Print Media, put it best:

“CEO is a tough job nowadays and anyone with that responsibility needs the patience of Job, the military-like planning of Eisenhower, the financial acumen of Warren Buffet, the firmness of the Ayatollah, the focus of Superman's x-ray vision, and the wisdom of Solomon. These criteria are not usually spelled out on most résumés.”

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