Western Digital Has the Most Disapproved CEO, Nvidia CEO Is the Most Approved

Western Digital
(Image credit: Western Digital)

recent evaluation by the professional social network Blind revealed stark contrasts in CEO approval ratings across various industries, focusing mainly on the technology and e-commerce sectors. Jensen Huang from Nvidia earned the highest acclaim with a staggering 96% approval rate. Conversely, Western Digital’s David Goeckeler faced the utmost criticism, bearing a 94% disapproval rate with no approval.

Lisa Su, chief executive of AMD, is approved by 79% of her company’s employees, whereas Apple’s Tim Cook has an 83% approval rating. Pat Gelsinger, the head of Intel, is approved by over half of his company’s staff.

The study underscored significant factors contributing to the CEO’s ratings, such as company performance, workforce management, and compensation structures. Exceptional leaders like Jensen Huang, who have navigated their companies to remarkable stock market achievements, garnered substantial approval. Nvidia’s focus on future-centric technologies like AI bolstered its market position, reflecting positively on Huang’s leadership, who foresaw the AI trend a decade ago.

(Image credit: Blind)

Workforce management emerged as a crucial determinant of CEO popularity. Leaders like Doug McMillon and Tim Cook, who maintained workforce stability by avoiding significant layoffs, were met with favorable ratings at 88% and 83%, respectively. In contrast, substantial workforce reductions seemed to tarnish the reputation of CEOs like Erik Nordstrom, who faced a severe disapproval rate after handing pink slips to numerous employees.

Additionally, compensation strategies appeared influential in shaping the employees' perspectives of their CEOs. A discrepancy in compensation, as seen in Western Digital, where Goeckeler's earnings drastically overshadowed the average employee, seemed to fuel disapproval. Conversely, companies where stock-based compensations substantially benefited employees tended to elevate the CEO's approval ratings.

(Image credit: Blind)

In conclusion, the Blind survey has unveiled a multifaceted view of CEO approval ratings, signifying the impact of strategic leadership decisions on professional perception. As the results suggest, workforce preservation, visionary leadership, and equitable compensation structures appear instrumental in fostering approval among professionals in the tech and e-commerce sectors.

The study incorporated the opinions of 13,171 verified professionals, analyzing the performance of 103 CEOs and yielding an average approval rate of 32%.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • oofdragon
    Nvidia CEO: let's double the price of our GPUs and triple our profits!! 💰💰💰
    Voters of the pool clapping hands: genius CEO!! Most approved!! 👏👏👏
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    Jensen is ofc gonna be top...the people who decide this are happy with his rising prices and increased profit by magnitudes.

    if Jensen randomly said "ya know what? I feel like I am a prick lets cut prices by 50% on all products"

    his ranking would be near bottom.
    Reply
  • derekullo
    oofdragon said:
    Nvidia CEO: let's double the price of our GPUs and triple our profits!! 💰💰💰
    Voters of the pool clapping hands: genius CEO!! Most approved!! 👏👏👏
    As long as you have a little nvidia stock you can always afford an nvidia gpu!
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Ofcourse Jensen is the best. High price, still most people buy…
    With Apple - high price and surprising many people still buy… but not even close in rate Nvdia sell their ”well priced” products!

    I am realistically expecting that 5000 series gives us even higher prices and still people buy. Sigh…
    Reply