Fifty Lessons - Leading by Example

Sanjiv Ahuja is the chief executive of Orange Group.

Mr. Ahuja started his career at IBM in 1979 as a software engineer and stayed there for fifteen years, fulfilling various executive roles, the most senior of which included the responsibility of leading IBMs entry into the telecommunications software industry.

He moved on to become president of Telcordia Technologies (formerly Bellcore), the worlds largest provider of operations support systems, network software, and consulting and engineering services to the telecommunications industry. He then became CEO of Comstellar Technologies, the California-based technology company.

In April 2003 Mr. Ahuja joined Orange as COO, moving up to CEO of the Group in March 2004, a position he holds today. He is also a director of Cadbury Schweppes.

Dawn Airey is the former managing director of Sky Networks, a position she left in 2007 to become CEO of Iostar.

Ms. Airey has worked in television for twenty years. She joined Britains Central TV as a management trainee in 1985 and became Channel 4 liaison officer a year later. In 1988 she was made controller of program planning. The following year she became director of program planning, with specific responsibilities for the schedule and its off- and on-screen promotion. In January 1996 she was appointed director of programs for Channel 5 (now Five). She became CEO in October 2000a position she held until the end of 2002. In January 2003 she joined British Sky Broadcasting, where she took on the newly created post of managing director, Sky Networks, until her departure 2007, when she joined the global communications company Iostar.

Ms. Airey is also a director of EasyJet.

Warren Bennis is University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, and Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Professor Bennis has served on the faculty of MITs Sloan School of Management, where he was chairman of the Organizational Studies Department. He is a former faculty member of Harvard and Boston University, and former provost and executive vice president of State University of New York at Buffalo. He was president of the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1977.

Professor Bennis is also chairman of the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvards Kennedy School. He has written more than two dozen books and many articles on leadership, change, and creative collaboration. He is a consultant for Fortune 500 companies and has served as adviser to four U.S. presidents.

Julia Cleverdon is the CEO of Business in the Community.

Ms. Cleverdon started her career working in industrial relations at British Leyland. She was director of The Industrial Societys Education and Inner City Division from 1981 until 1988 before becoming CEO of Business in the Communitythe movement of seven hundred companies across the United Kingdom committed to continually improving their positive impact on societyin 1992.

During her time there, one of her key roles has been to lead Seeing is Believing, the initiative launched in conjunction with HRH the Prince of Wales to help business leaders see the role business can play in tackling social problems. To date, more than fourteen hundred business leaders have taken part.

Ms. Cleverdon is also a director of InKind Direct, the charity that acts as a clearinghouse for surplus goods from the corporate sector that are channeled to good causes in the voluntary sector. Domenico De Sole is the former president and CEO of Gucci Group. He is currently a director of Bausch & Lomb, Telecom Italia, Delta Air Lines, and Gap Inc.

Mr. De Sole moved from Italy to the United States in 1970, where he earned a masters degree from Harvard University and became a partner in the Washington law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow. He joined Gucci in 1984 as CEO of Gucci America. He remained in New York until 1994, when he moved to Italy as the Groups chief operating officer.

He was appointed CEO, and at the end of 1995 led Gucci Group NVs listing on the New York and Amsterdam stock exchanges. In 1999 he successfully fought a hostile takeover bid, securing Guccis independence as a basis for continued expansion, which has included the acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney. Mr. De Sole left Gucci in 2004.

Amelia Fawcett is the former vice chairman and COO of Morgan Stanley International. Ms. Fawcett is currently deputy chairman of the National Employment Panel.

She had been with Morgan Stanley for seventeen years, first joining the London office in 1987. She was then appointed vice president in 1990, and executive director in 1992, moving up to the role of managing director and chief administrative officer for the European operations in 1996.

In 2002 she was appointed vice chairman of Morgan Stanley International, responsible for development and implementation of the companys business strategy. She left her position in September 2006.

Ms. Fawcett is also chairman of the National Portrait Gallerys Development Board and chairman of the London International Festival of Theater.

Ken Freeman is the current managing director of the private equity firm KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.) and the former chairman and CEO of Quest Diagnostics.

Mr. Freeman started his career at Corning Incorporated, progressing through the financial function to lead several business turnarounds. In 1996 Quest Diagnostics, the health-care services company, was spun off from Corning.

Following his nine-year tenure at Quest Diagnostics, Mr. Freeman joined KKR as its managing director in May 2005. In this role he works closely with KKRs health-care team and other industry groups to source new investment opportunities and provide operational counsel and management expertise.

Howard Lester is the chairman and CEO of Williams-Sonoma.

Mr. Lester purchased Williams-Sonoma in 1978, and since that time has held the positions of president, CEO, and now chairman.

Mr. Lester is also on the board of Harolds Stores and is on the executive council of UCSF. He is on the advisory boards of the Retail Management Institute of Santa Clara University and the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Lord MacLaurin is the former chairman and CEO of Tesco. He spent thirty-eight years at the international retailer Tesco, a company he joined in 1959 and subsequently expanded into a retailing tour de force. Currently, Lord MacLaurin is a director for The Evolution Group and a member of the Heineken Supervisory Board.