INDITEX’S PABLO ISLA RANKED NUMBER ONE ON HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW’S TOP 100 CEO LIST

Harvard Business Review has released its annual list of the 100 best-performing CEOs and this year’s top performer is Pablo Isla, head of Spanish retailer Inditex, best known for its flagship fashion brand Zara.

The list, which appears in Harvard Business Review’s November/December issue, is different from other leader rankings in that it measures performance for the entire length of a chief executive’s tenure.

“We think it’s important to recognize leaders who are delivering strong financial performance and creating sustainable businesses over the long term – not just quarter to quarter,” said Adi Ignatius, editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review.

Isla, who ranked #3 in last year’s list, has led Inditex on a global expansion since becoming CEO in 2005, increasing its market value sevenfold and making it Spain’s most valuable company. Today the company’s eight brands have 7,300 stores in 93 countries.

Measured on financial returns alone, Isla comes in #18 in the ranking. But Inditex’s strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, which makes up 20 percent of each CEO’s ranking, propelled him to the top spot.

In an interview with Harvard Business Review, Isla discusses some of the factors—a flat structure and an informal management style; “proximity sourcing,” or production close to home; and a continual focus on sustainability—that have contributed to Inditex’s success.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who dropped from #1 to #87 in 2015 when ESG ratings became a factor in the HBR ranking, is now in the #71 spot. On the purely financial metrics, he still leads all other CEOs.