Duke Energy, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. Prior to his current position, Holeman served as executive vice president of transmission and engineering for the Houston-based subsidiary, Duke Energy Gas Transmission.
Louis W. Hoyes, Exec. VP, Single Family Mortgage Business, Fannie Mae, Age: 56, Hoyes oversees the mortgage lending giant’s single-family business and single-family customer technology. With 979 employees, including nine senior vice presidents and 26 vice presidents, this division is responsible for purchasing single-family mortgages, developing new mortgage products, and providing products and services to help lenders with portfolio management. In 2003, the unit contributed $4.8 billion, or 32.4%, of Fannie Mae’s taxable equivalent revenues. With $43.8 billion in revenues for 2003, Fannie Mae is the 20th largest publicly traded company in the United States. Prior to his current position, Hoyes served as senior vice president of Multifamily Lending and Investment, managing and marketing the company’s more than $57.6 billion portfolio of multifamily loans and investments.
David E. Jackson, Divisional Vice President, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Age: 55, Jackson is responsible for operational aspects of 534 stores in 18 states in the mid-Northeastern and Northwestern United States for the world’s largest retailer. He leads a management team that includes six regional vice presidents and 75 district managers. The Tuskegee Institute graduate joined the $258.7 billion retailing titan in 1983 as an assistant manager and was named store manager for the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Wal-Mart the following year. Over the next 10 years, he held positions of increasing responsibility-including district manager, region manager, and regional vice president-before being named to his current position in 1994. Jackson earned his degree in economics and business and was a business education major at the University of Alabama. He also received the first Sam Walton “Hero” Award for Excellence in 1995.
Ronald A. Williams, President & Director, Aetna Inc., Age: 55, As president of Aetna, Williams took the $18 billion healthcare giant off life support. When he accepted the position in 2002, the company was hemorrhaging red ink, posting a loss of $279.6 million. To revive the ailing institution, he performed radical surgery, cutting costs and laying off thousands of employees while targeting new revenue sources. Now, the company is back on track. “The objective was to focus on the creation of a new generation of products, providing consumers with much more choice and flexibility,” he says. “We introduced those products in 2002. Our membership has begun to grow. This year, through the third quarter, we added 652,000 net new members as a result of many of these changes.” Williams has also pushed Aetna to become an industry leader by taking on issues such as racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. He oversees 27,000 employees and controls a leviathan that touches millions of lives. Aetna insures 13.6 million individuals for medical coverage; 11 million for dental coverage, 8 million for pharmacy coverage, and 12 million for group life and disability coverage. Williams, who earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from Roosevelt University and a master’s degree from