the subject of congressional hearings last year and an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission investigation-but there’s no doubting the leadership ability of its CEO. Operating under federal charter, Fannie Mae is the largest nonbank financial services company in the world. Raines has led the company through continuous double-digit operating income growth and has made a commitment to invest $2 trillion toward financing affordable housing for 18 million families. Raines describes Fannie Mae as a company that helps millions of Americans purchase homes. As Raines seeks to push forward his agenda at Fannie Mae, his track record communicates success: As director of the office of management and budget under Clinton, he helped create the first federal budget surplus in modern history.
Pamela Thomas-Graham, Chief Executive Officer & President/ Executive Vice President, CNBC/ NBC Age: 41, Thomas-Graham, the highest ranking African American in the ultracompetitive cable news industry, continues to prove she’s worth her weight in gold. In July 2001, she was appointed president and CEO of CNBC, the 24-hour news channel owned by NBC and affiliated with Dow Jones, which generated more than $500 million in revenues. Over the past two years, Thomas-Graham has shifted the network’s focus away from the stock market and toward analysis of current events and talk shows with high-profile hosts. As a result, it has begun to turn a profit on par with its performance before the dot-com bust and 9-11. A triple Harvard University degree holder (B.A., M.B.A., J.D.), Thomas-Graham, has been breaking new ground throughout her career. She became the first black woman and the youngest ever to make partner at the world-class management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
John W. Thompson, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Symantec Corp., Age: 55, Thompson became CEO of Symantec in 1999 and turned it into the country’s largest maker of security software. Once a producer of tools and utilities for Windows PCs, Symantec is now a $1.4 billion company that employs more than 4,300 people. Thompson’s lucrative deals-including the recent $13.5 billion acquisition of VERITAS Software-have made Symantec one of the most valuable software companies in the world and earned him recognition as BE’s 2004 Executive of the Year. Prior to joining Symantec, the Florida A&M University and MIT Sloan School of Management graduate had a distinguished career with IBM, where he held senior executive positions in sales, marketing, and software development. Since joining Symantec, Thompson has further developed its best known product, Norton AntiVirus.
Lloyd G. Trotter, Chief Executive Officer & President, GE Consumer and Industrial, Age: 59, Trotter heads a $13 billion GE subsidiary that employs 75,000 people in 150 locations worldwide. One of GE’s 11 major businesses, the company was formed in 2004 when GE Industrial Systems merged with GE Consumer Products. GE Consumer and Industrial is an industry leader in major appliances, lighting products, and integrated industrial equipment and systems. Trotter became president and CEO of GE Industrial Systems in 1998 and was instrumental in strengthening the company’s foothold in international markets and expanding its