The CEO Hall of Honor: Profiles in Kindness, Humanity and Greatness!

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The CEO Hall of Honor: Profiles in Leadership, Humanity and Greatness! 

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This is an article about good bosses.

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Actually great bosses!

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Well, truth be told, I stand corrected: it’s about bosses who have done the absolutely unbelievable! Bosses who not only treated employees like human-beings, they treated them like kings and queens! Bosses who, through their astonishing, mind-boggling acts of humanity, morality, courage, passion and leadership, have earned themselves the status of LEGEND! 

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Having decided on my own to establish the “CEO Hall of Honor,” (in case you’re wondering: CEO Hall of Fame is already trademarked) these are my three nominees!

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H. Ross Perot

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Many know H. Ross Perot for his failed, though charismatic, candidacies for the United States Presidency in 1992 and 1996.

But did you know that in 1979, while CEO of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), two of his employees, Paul Chiapparone and Bill Gaylord were kidnapped in Iran and held for trial in prison. Paul and Bill:

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They were hostages amidst the turmoil, tumult, violence, fear and uncertainty that was Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979!

When the U.S. government proved unsuccessful in securing the release of the two, Perot hatched a plan to rescue them: Operation “HOTFOOT” (Help Our Two Friends out of Tehran). Perot organized a rescue mission composed of ex-military members of EDS and led by legendary U.S. Army Colonel Arthur D. “Bull” Simons. Unbelievably, Perot himself, posing as an NBC film courier, slipped into Iran and ultimately succeeded in entering the prison. While there, he passed a secret message to his two jailed employees informing them that he would mount a covert rescue operation to free them soon. In later interviews after being freed, the two spoke publicly of the utter shock and disbelief they felt at the sight of their own boss in an Iranian prison, during the Islamic Revolution, and the comfort and assurance it gave them.

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On February 11^th, following the exile of the deposed Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini’s return to Iran, angry crowds stormed the prison; in the melee which ensued, Chiapparone and Gaylord were secured and spirited into hiding by Perot’s team of covert commandos. In a daring, death-defying move, they were transported through the rugged, mountainous terrain of Iran and finally snuck across the border into Turkey where the jubilant Perot met them!  This incredible true-life story was documented in Ken Follet’s “On Wings of Eagles.”

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Leonard Abess Jr.

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In November 2008, Leonard Abess Jr., CEO of City National Bancshares of Miami, sold an 83% stake of the company to the Spanish Banking conglomerate Caja Madrid. The deal netted Abess Jr. a cool $60 Million.

So what did Abess Jr. do with the proceeds of his massive financial windfall? A new luxury yacht with  an huge sign made by FL Yacht Signs? A fleet of Ferraris? A mega-mansion in Malibu? Nope, not this guy! He gave the entire sum to his employees in the form of bonuses! That’s right, from janitors to bank-tellers to secretaries to managers, every single employee received a bonus ranging from tens-of-thousand of dollars to hundreds-of-thousands. But did Abess Jr. stop there? No. He even went so far as to track down over seventy former employees to whom he also gave the bonuses. So full of humility was Abess Jr., that he avoided being present at the bank on the day the bonuses were dispensed! Explaining later his motivation for this almost unbelievable act of kindness toward his dedicated employees, he remarked:

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 ”Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity — I always thought some day I’m going to surprise them. I sure as heck don’t need the money.”

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Aaron Feuerstein

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Aaron Feuerstein was the CEO and owner of Lawrence, Massachusetts-based Malden Mills when the factory went up in flames and burned to the ground on the night of December 11, 1995.

With nearly 3,000 desperate company employees out of a job and without a paycheck, Feuerstein knew he had to act. Aaron Feuerstein selflessly invested in the heath, well-being and welfare of his dedicated employees, spending $25 Million of his own money to keep them on the payroll while the destroyed factory was being rebuilt.

Citing the Talmud as the impetus for his incredibly generous act of kindness and compassion, Feuerstein stated to Parade Magazine:

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“I have a responsibility to the worker, both blue-collar and white-collar. I have an equal responsibility to the community. It would have been unconscionable to put 3,000 people on the streets and deliver a deathblow to the cities of Lawrence and Methuen. Maybe on paper our company is worthless to Wall Street, but I can tell you it’s worth more.” 

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Hello! My name is Yonatan Maisel. Nope, in case you are wondering: I’m not a CEO. I’m not a boss. And I have not achieved even an iota of a fraction of the greatness of those profiled above. I am, however, a professional writer, published author and business-blogger.

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