Underrated or overrated? Executives rank the business world’s top CEOs

This story is part of Coins2Day ‘s 202 1 World’s Most Admired Companies coverage.

Business leaders weigh on which of their peers get too little credit, and which ones get too much.

Most underrated CEOs based on 5,250 responses

Satya Nadella, Microsoft

328 votes

Nadella’s peers have now voted him “most underrated” five years in a row—an indication, perhaps, of his ability to steer the company through a major reinvention while generating shockingly little drama. Tech analysts believe (though Microsoft won’t confirm) that the Azure cloud business Nadella has championed now accounts for as much revenue as the Windows software that turned the company into a behemoth a generation ago. The successful absorption of LinkedIn and software development site GitHub have demonstrated the 53-year-old CEO’s ability to win on multiple fronts, as has the Xbox’s sustained cred in gaming circles. Microsoft’s share price, meanwhile, has more than quintupled during Nadella’s seven-year tenure—a sign of investors’ long-term confidence in his big bets.

Mary Barra, General Motors

151 votes

Last spring, GM was making PPE for health care workers; by fall, it was posting healthy profits.

Tim Cook, Apple

146 votes

The pandemic barely slowed Apple’s rollout of new phones, watches, and services.

Doug McMillon, Walmart

135 votes

Walmart has been a bulwark against COVID, keeping stores open and hiring widely.

Most overrated CEOs based on 4,489 responses

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

445 votes

Facebook is hardly the only online platform to have struggled to curb the spread of misinformation. But over the past year, with COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd, and the presidential election each spurring waves of algorithmically amplified falsehoods and hate speech, Zuckerberg’s company came under unprecedented scrutiny—and an expanding circle of critics faulted the CEO and cofounder for doing far too little, years too late. Advertisers began voting with their dollars in meaningful ways, pulling back and even pulling out, as revenue growth slowed. An antitrust suit by the Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, seeks to undo Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp—taking aim at some of Zuckerberg’s signature accomplishments.