14 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
American businessman who acquired full control of Coca-Cola from John Pemberton for approximately $2,300 and built it into a national brand through aggressive distribution, franchise bottling, and free sample marketing.
President of Epic Systems and long-term partner to Judy Faulkner in building the company's operational and customer-facing functions.
Second-generation leader of Hermès who expanded the brand from carriage harnesses to full equestrian equipment including saddles, and moved the atelier to rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
Austrian automotive engineer and son of Ferdinand Porsche who designed the Porsche 356 — the first car to bear the Porsche name — while his father was imprisoned post-WWII, founding Porsche AG as a sports car manufacturer rather than just an engineering consultancy.
American businessman who was estranged from his father Frank, moved to Europe to build his own candy empire (eventually creating M&Ms), and returned to take over Mars Inc. — building it into a global confectionery and pet food conglomerate through obsessive operational efficiency.
American aerospace executive and President and COO of SpaceX, who joined as the 11th employee and built the company's commercial launch business — securing contracts with NASA, commercial satellite operators, and international customers that funded SpaceX through its early failures.
French executive who transformed Louis Vuitton from a luxury goods shop into a global brand in the 1970s and 1980s, then orchestrated the Moët Hennessy merger to form LVMH — before being outmaneuvered and ousted by Bernard Arnault, whom Racamier had invited in as an ally.
French textile industrialist and horse racing magnate who backed Christian Dior's founding in 1946 and built one of France's largest industrial empires — which went bankrupt in the 1970s, creating the distressed asset that Arnault acquired.
Early DoorDash employee known for the founding-era operational hustle that characterized DoorDash's scrappy early days — exemplified by personally securing dedicated parking spots at shopping malls to enable faster delivery.
Japanese-Canadian businessman and president of Nintendo of America who established Nintendo's US operations — building the distribution network and retail relationships that made the NES the dominant US gaming platform after the 1983 video game crash.
Iranian-American technology executive and Google's first chief business officer, who built Google's global advertising sales operation from zero and was employee #11 — later serving as Executive Chairman of Twitter.
American technology executive and former COO of Meta/Facebook (2008–2022) who built Facebook's advertising sales business into a $100B+ revenue machine and wrote the bestselling business book Lean In.
American technology executive who rented her garage to Google's founders in 1998 and later served as CEO of YouTube from 2014 to 2023.
President of Hershey Chocolate who partnered with Forrest Mars to create M&Ms — the 'M' in M&Ms stands for Mars and Murrie — providing Hershey's chocolate during wartime rationing in exchange for a 20% stake that Forrest Mars later bought back.