2022 best and worst CEOs

From: allin

The annual “Bestie Awards” at the end of 2022 included categories for the biggest winners and losers in various fields, including business and leadership [00:00:08].

Best CEO of 2022

Predictions for 2022 (made in 2021)

In 2021, the hosts made the following predictions for the Best CEO of 2022:

• Jason predicted Frank Slootman and Elon Musk [02:27:52].
• Chamath predicted Satya Nadella [02:27:52].
• Sax predicted Brian Armstrong [02:27:52].
• Friedberg predicted Jack Dorsey [02:27:52].

Actual Best CEO Picks for 2022

• Sax: CEOs who got “leaner” Sax chose a generic category, stating that “every founder took my advice to get leaner” [01:42:52]. He believes that every CEO who responded to the market’s “regime change” by cutting costs, getting leaner, and extending runway deserves to be on this list [01:43:24]. He noted that many are still resisting or taking medicine in “little drips and drives” instead of swallowing it whole [01:43:37].

• Chamath: Vicki Hollab (Occidental Petroleum) & CEOs who “bit the bullet” Chamath’s numerical answer was Vicki Hollab, CEO of Occidental Petroleum, whose stock was up about 140% in 2022, making it the best-performing stock of the year for a $63 billion company [01:44:06]. He also doubled down on Sax’s answer, praising CEOs who “bit the bullet” to guide their portfolio companies to cash flow break-even or extend runway to Q1 2025 [01:44:21]. He specifically mentioned the CEO of Klarna for having the courage to make cuts before others and the CEO of Checkout.com for taking a huge write-down to ensure company survival [01:45:26].

• Friedberg: Warren Buffett Friedberg’s choice was Warren Buffett, citing his consistent ability to remain steadfast regardless of market conditions [01:45:44]. Buffett “stays within his zone of competence,” doesn’t let macro factors drive him, and is an extraordinary capital allocator [01:46:25]. He is the largest shareholder of Occidental Petroleum [01:46:43].

• Jason: Brian Chesky (Airbnb) & Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber) Jason chose CEOs of companies that transitioned from “money losers” to “free cash flow” generators [01:47:04].

  • Brian Chesky (Airbnb): His number one pick, as Airbnb became a “money printer” and is still growing quickly [01:47:14].
  • Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber): His second pick, noting that Uber needs to cut more expenses but is also hitting free cash flow and strong network effects [01:47:27].

Worst CEO of 2022 (Implicitly)

While there wasn’t a specific “Worst CEO” category with predictions, several discussions pointed to poor CEO performance:

• Bob Chapek (Disney) Sax identified Bob Chapek, the former Disney CEO, as the “biggest business loser of 2022” [03:30:01]. Chapek was Bob Iger’s hand-picked successor but made key mistakes:

  • Allowed himself to be “Mao Mao’d by woke employees” into picking a fight with DeSantis over the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” leading to economic retaliation from the state [03:30:12].
  • Bob Iger undermined him behind the scenes, complaining that Chapek was not soliciting his advice [03:32:00].
  • Chapek centralized P&Ls, infuriating creatives [03:37:02].
  • He went to war with Scarlett Johansson over a $10 million settlement, showing a lack of ability to handle talent [03:37:15].
  • These actions were described as “unforced error after unforced error” [03:37:26]. Chapek was eventually forced out and Iger returned [03:38:00].

• Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX) Sam Bankman-Fried (SPF), CEO of FTX, was unanimously named the “worst human being for 2022” [01:56:01] due to the “incredible revelation of the scale of the scam and the fraud and the craziness that went on” at FTX [03:14:50]. The failure of FTX highlighted “systemic laziness and blind eye and systemic bias” by investors and journalists who should have done more due diligence [03:22:10]. His actions caused widespread financial losses and chaos [01:56:20].

• CEOs of “Big Tech” Chamath argued that “Big Tech” as a class was the “biggest business loser of this year” [03:00:26]. He noted three reasons:

  • It was a “crowded trade” that finally broke [03:00:45].
  • Regulators began aggressively targeting these companies [03:11:11].
  • The innovation cycle shifted, as companies realized they couldn’t outspend competitors and their spending seemed “foolish” [03:11:20].

Best Turnaround of 2022

• Jason: Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) Jason believes Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, had the “best turnaround” of 2022 [01:52:27]. After losing money and refusing a “riff” (layoff), Zuckerberg finally made cuts (reportedly 10-15% based on performance), leading to a stock recovery from $85to$110-$115 [01:52:32].

• Sax: San Francisco Political Leadership Sax noted a “partial turnaround” in San Francisco’s political leadership [01:53:27]. Key events included:

  • The recall of three school board members, including Allison Collins, by a 70-30 margin [01:54:49].
  • The recall of progressive D.A. Chesa Boudin by a 60-40 margin [01:54:20].
  • The rejection of far-left supervisor Gordon Marr by his own community [01:54:36].
  • The reelection of tough D.A. Brooke Jenkins [01:54:43]. These events suggest that the electorate is now seeking “Centrist Democrats” [01:54:59].

Rudy Giuliani Award for Self-Immolation (for CEOs/Leaders)

This award is given to individuals who “poured lighter fluid and gasoline over themselves and lit themselves on fire for no apparent reason” [02:10:29].

• Jason: Kevin O’Leary Jason chose Kevin O’Leary, who received a $15 million bag from FTX and then “decided to try to defend it 18 ways to Sunday,” burning his reputation in the process [02:10:36].

• Friedberg: Elon Musk Friedberg controversially nominated Elon Musk, not due to bad intentions or idiocy, but because his principled role in buying and running Twitter has caused him “a lot of reputational damage” [02:10:53]. While many appreciate his efforts, it has hurt his standing [02:11:31].

• Chamath: Herschel Walker Chamath gave the award to Herschel Walker [02:12:09].

• Sax: John Fetterman Sax humorously nominated John Fetterman, noting that while Republicans who self-immolate “get laughed out of town,” Democrats “just get elected” [02:13:36].

• Additional Nomination: The FBI A final nomination was for the FBI for the “poorly handled” search and seizure at Mar-A-Lago, which looked “kind of like an idiot” [02:13:11]. This contributed to the “combination of revelations” about government collusion [02:13:27].