Today’s Leaders
Oriah Ben-Gal
Kimberly Chidester
Nina Dobrowolski
Cherish Landers
Charity Ross
 Agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in
food production, including farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm
machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales.
The term has two distinctly different connotations depending on context.
 Within the agriculture industry, agribusiness is widely used simply as a
convenient portmanteau of agriculture and business, referring to the range of
activities and disciplines encompassed by
modern food production. There are
academic degrees in and departments of
agribusiness, agribusiness trade
associations, agribusiness publications,
and so forth, worldwide. Here, the term is
only descriptive, and is synonymous in the
broadest sense with food industry.
 Among critics of large-scale, industrialized,
vertically integrated food production, the
term agribusiness is used as a negative,
synonymous with corporate farming.
As such, it is often contrasted with family
farm. Some negative connotation is also
derived from the negative associations of
"business" and "corporation" from critics of
capitalism or corporate excess.
- Wikipedia.com
CEO of Dole Food, Inc.
 Founded by James Drummond Dole in 1851
 Founded in Hawaii
 Initially focused on canning operations and the production
of pineapples
 After Dole merged with Castle & Cooke, Inc., it began
producing and selling a variety of fresh fruits and
vegetables
 High School dropout
 Drafted by Army in 1943
 CEO Positions (10)
 Dole Food Inc.
 Castle & Cooke Inc.
 Huntington Tile
 Yankie Hill Brick
 Murdock Devel. Corp.
 Wiscassett Mills
 Flexi-Van Leasing
 Goettel, Stair Co.
 Ventura Farms
 Other Positions Held
 Chairman of the Board of Dole Food/Castle & Cooke, Inc. since 1985
 Sole proprietor, Chairman, CEO of Murdock Holding Co. (formerly
Pacific Holding Co.) since 1995
 Developed the Regency Club and the Sherwood Country Club
 Began his career as CEO of Dole because of the
company’s need for financial stability and productivity
 Plans for Dole included
 Offering the finest, high-quality products
 Leading the industry in nutrition research and
education
 Adhering to the highest ethical conduct in all business
dealings, treatment of employees, and social and
environmental policies.
 Some revere him and some loathe him
 Hardworking
 Ambitious
 Innovative
 Open to new experiences
 Skills
 Crisis management
 Multi-tasking
 Expansion
Strong Leader
Characteristics
Weak Leader
Characteristics
• Self Driven and
Determined
• Years of experience as
a leader and
entrepreneur
• Innovational
• Motivator/Mentor
• Industrious
• Ability to continuously
accomplish goals
• Egotistic
• exaggerated sense of
self-importance
• Overly concerned with
personal gain
• Lack of focus on
building personal
relationships
 YES!
 Excellent motivator with a strategic vision
 Achieved high levels of employee satisfaction
 Competitive compensation packages
 Working environment
 In depth employment training programs
 Greatly expanded
 Dole’s product line
 Operating locations
 Public image
 Launched a number of programs and campaigns to
increase community involvement
CEO of PepsiCo, Inc.
 Was founded in 1965 by Donald M. Kendall, President and CEO of
Pepsi-Cola, and Herman W. Lay, Chairman and CEO of Frito-Lay,
through the merger of the two companies
 Sister companies and subsidiaries include Pepsi-Cola, Inc., Frito-Lay,
Inc., Tropicana, Quaker Oates, and Gatorade
 The drink was first made in the 1890s by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in
New Bern, North Carolina
 51 years old
 Native of India
 Graduated from Yale in 1980
 Worked for Boston Consulting Group (BCG),
Motorola, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and then finally
PepsiCo, Inc.
 Washington post article by Amy Joyce: “Indra is not
only an incredibly talented executive but a brilliant
strategist. She is one of these executives who, in the
chess game of business, moves ahead of other people”
 Promoted from Chief Strategist to President and CFO
to Chairwoman of the Board and CEO
 Known for being brilliant in the strategy,
maneuvering, and organization of mergers and
acquisitions
 Low LPC, task-motivated leader with certain high LPC,
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relationship-oriented characteristics
“Behind my cool logic lies a very emotional person” (Nooyi,
2007)
Able to create structure
Remains calm in high-pressure, high-stress situations
Uses relatable examples to connect her employees with
organizational goals
Charismatic and innovative leader
Encourages both an individualist and collectivist attitude
in her employees in order to achieve the desired end result
for PepsiCo, Inc
Strong Leader
Characteristics
• Task-motivated
qualities and
relationship-motivated
characteristics
• External and internal
work experience
• Inspires her employees
• Realistic
Weak Leader
Characteristics
• Cultural Stereotypes
 YES!!!
 Best Place to Work for GLBT Equality, 2007 Best
Performers List, List of America’s Top Corporations for
Women’s Business Enterprises
 Worked her way from Chief Strategist to CEO despite
social obstacles
 Fortune 500
Chairman of Perdue Farms
 Established in 1920
 Is still a family run business
 one of the nation’s largest poultry processors that produce
a wide variety of chicken and turkey products
 celebrated its 75th anniversary as a family-run business in
1995
 Joined business in 1983 as an entry level management
trainee
 Worked many different management jobs in the
company
 Took over the business in late 1991 and also became
advertising spokesman
 Management process was opened up and employees
have influence in decision making
 Provides egalitarian culture and also empowers
employees
 Contains 3 skills which provide leadership skills
 Technical skills
 Interpersonal skills
 Conceptual skills
 Jim focuses on growth
 Domestically and internationally
 Created vertical integration within the company
 Allowed company to save money
Strong Leader
Characteristics
• Grew up in
Business
• Empowers
employees
• Transformational
Leader
• Provides Guided
Missile Culture
Weak Leader
Characteristics
• Calm and quiet
personality
 Jim Perdue is an effective leader
 Attained many positions in the company
 Strong communication skills
 Focuses on growth
 Committed to quality and the success of Perdue Farms
CEO of Tyson Foods, Inc.
 Founded is 1935 by John Tyson
 World’s largest processor and marketer of poultry, beef and pork
 product lineup ranges from fresh meats to processed and
precooked meats, refrigerated and ready to eat frozen meals
 supplies over 25 billion pounds of meats to nearly every fast food
chain, supermarket, and restaurant chain within the continental
United States
 Degree in business administration from Elizabethtown
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(Pa.) College
Worked for several other food companies, including
Pet Inc., before joining IBP in 1980 as an
administrative assistant
President of IBP’s fresh meats division
CEO of IBP
Became co-operating officer of Tyson Foods
2003 - named president and chief operating officer
 Was put in to cut costs
 Is supposed to develop a plan for large expansion
overseas
 Is expected to return the company to profitability
 Rigid / Cut throat
 Dependable
 Responsible
 Task Oriented / Low LPC Leader
 Type B personality
 Pragmatic & Methodical
 High Power Distance
Strong Leader
Characteristics
• Worked his way up to
CEO
• Familiar with industry
(30+ yrs of experience)
• Accomplishes goals set
by board
• Fits well into company
culture
• Good Troubleshooting
Techniques (sensational
feelers)
Weak Leader
Characteristics
• Is “bullied” by Tyson
Family
• Does not consult lower
level employees
• High Power Distance
(In Group)
• Can only do one thing at
a time
 Marginally!
 Stock has done nothing since Bond became CEO
 (June 16th - $14.51  December 10th - $15.32)
 Has cut expenses by $200,000,000
 Eliminated 4,200 Jobs
 Have not seen any overseas significant growth
 Lowered FY 2007 Estimates
 Reported Q4 profit, but lowered FY 2008 estimates
 Bad press has set Tyson back
 Agreed to Synthetic Fuel Joint Venture
CEO of Hershey’s, Inc.
 Established in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey
 considered one of the largest chocolate companies in
America
 Hershey's Kisses chocolates were first introduced in 1907
 Mr. Goodbar was introduced in 1925, Hershey's Syrup in
1926, chocolate chips in 1928, and the Krackel bar in 1938
 Graduated from Kellogg Graduate School
 Worked for Kraft Foods
 2001 became CEO of Hershey’s
 Will retire December 31, 2007
 Innovative
 New products
 New markets
 Focused on Future
 New CEO
 Communication Skills
 Informs employees and retailers
 Strategic Vision
 New displays
 Cut costs
Strong Leader
Characteristics
• Intelligence
• Experience
Weak Leader
Characteristics
• Internal Conflict
• Autocratic
 YES!
 Increased net income
 Various other achievements
Low LPC
High LPC
• Bond
• Nooyi
•
•
•
•
Murdoch
Perdue
Lenny
Nooyi
David H. Murdock
Indra K. Nooyi
Jim Perdue
Richard Lenny
No Vision – Richard Bond
Richard Bond
David Murdoch
Jim Perdue
David H. Murdock
Indra K. Nooyi
1.
Murdoch
2.
Nooyi
3.
Perdue
4.
Lenny
5.
Bond
Oriah Ben-Gal - Kimberly Chidester - Nina Dobrowolski - Cherish Landers - Charity Ross