50 years ago, most people would not be able to name a single CEO of one of the world’s biggest companies. Now, not only can most people name a long list of CEOs, but we’re basically obsessed with them.
We live in the age of the celebrity CEO, where the founders and CEOs of companies have large public personas and their followings usually eclipse those of the organisations they run. Their journeys, ideas, and opinions are of great interest to people all over the world.
Think Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Susan Wojcicki, Richard Branson… the list goes on.
Even on a smaller business scale, the CEOs who are in Dragon’s Den (or Shark Tank in the USA) don’t run Fortune 500 companies, but they are all household names with large social media followings and appear on other TV shows.
These CEOs are the figureheads, ambassadors, and champions of their companies, the thought leaders of their industries and the world we live in. Being visible is of huge importance for raising the profile of their business and converting people to join their businesses’ cause and share their values.
The world of orchestras couldn’t be further away from this modern age of the celebrity CEO, with bosses being invisible to the public and even to those within the industry. It’s rare to know who they are and rarer still to know what their values or thoughts on the industry are.
