cards. It was the first deal between American Express and a U.S. financial institution. Company stock was $55.68 a share just before the 2004 holiday season and had reached a 52-week high of $56.60 just a few weeks prior. The New York native and Harvard Law School graduate was also behind the landmark deal with Citibank to issue co-branded credit cards throughout the U.S. starting this year. In 2002, Chenault was listed as one of the 10 highest-paid executives in New York City.
Erroll B. Davis Jr., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Alliant Energy, Age: 60, Davis heads a $3.1 billion energy services provider that serves more than 3 million customers worldwide. His tenure appears to be going well: The company’s stock price was at a 52-week high of $27.64 at the end of 2004. Davis holds an engineering degree from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He was first employed at Alliant Energy’s predecessor, Wisconsin Power and Light Co. In 1998, he took the helm of Alliant, a company that provides its Midwest customers with electricity and natural gas. Other key parts of the business include the international energy market and nonregulated domestic energy generation. Davis is a member of the advisory board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
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ald E. Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Region, Wachovia, Age: 43, This graduate of Morehouse College joined Wachovia in 1985 and has held a number of positions in the company, primarily in commercial real estate. As head of the Atlantic region for the fourth largest bank in the country, Davis provides executive leadership to all retail, commercial, and small business bank operations in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In 2004, Wachovia, which has $24.5 billion in overall revenues, split the management of its retail bank operations, dividing it into northern and southern groups. Davis’ region stretches as far south as to South Carolina. Wachovia services more than 14 million households and businesses through some 3,200 financial centers and retail brokerage firms. Davis is a believer in mentoring and supports various programs at his alma mater.
Ann M. Fudge, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP, Age: 52, In an industry that focuses on big accounts, great slogans, and advertising awards, Fudge may seem somewhat of a misfit. She is not your typical advertising executive-in background or ideology. Since being named chairman and CEO of WPP’s marketing and communications giant in May 2003, Fudge hasn’t emphasized new business or creative savvy. As a result, she has had to fight speculation and doubt as well as a creative culture concentrated on conquests. Fudge has been steadfastly focused on strengthening the company, which has 540 offices in 80 countries, to function as one multifaceted organization-renaming the company Young & Rubicam Brands to make her point. This move speaks to Fudge’s efforts to create a company that can offer holistic marketing solutions to satisfy the needs of a client looking to enhance brand