Fortune’s survey of the World’s Most Admired Companies, now in its 21st year (and conducted by our partner the Korn Ferry), has always measured the reputations of large corporations as seen by their fellow big-company executives. For the past three years, we’ve also asked our respondents to weigh in on the reputations of the people who lead those enterprises. Specifically, we asked respondents to tell us which CEOs aren’t getting enough credit—and which are getting too much.
For the third year in a row, Satya Nadella of Microsoft took the number one spot as most underrated CEO and Jeff Bezos of Amazon finished second. While the 2017 and 2018 votes were relatively close, Nadella won more than twice as many votes as Bezos in this year’s survey. It’s not coincidental that Nadella has presided over a remarkable revival at Microsoft, as a prescient investment in cloud technology paid off for the company. In November, Microsoft even unseated Apple as the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization—though it was dethroned itself earlier this month by, yes, Amazon.
Of course, this survey is nothing if not subjective. Three CEOs—Bezos, Tim Cook of Apple, and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase—managed to make it on to the most underrated and most overrated lists. One takeaway: Any CEO famous enough to be a virtual brand name is likely to attract as many critics as fans.
Underrated CEOs
Based on 4,243 responses
Satya Nadella, Microsoft: 217 votes
Nadella attends the Viva Tech start-up and technology gathering at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles on May 24, 2018 in Paris.Christophe Morin — IP3 Getty Images
Christophe Morin — IP3 Getty Images
Jeff Bezos, Amazon: 98 votes
Bezos at the WIRED25 Summit on October 15, 2018 in San Francisco,Phillip Faraone — Getty Images for WIRED25
Phillip Faraone — Getty Images for WIRED25
Mary Barra, General Motors: 83 votes
Barra speaks at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit on Jan. 16.Paul Sancya — AP
Paul Sancya — AP
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase: 80 votes
Dimon visits Chase’s first retail branch in downtown Boston, expected to open this month, on Dec. 12, 2018.Gretchen Ertl — AP
Gretchen Ertl — AP
Tim Cook, Apple: 79 votes
Cook speaks during an Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park on September 12, 2018 in Cupertino, California.Justin Sullivan — Getty Images
Justin Sullivan — Getty Images
Overrated CEOs
Based on 3,163 responses
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook: 635 votes
Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018.Zach Gibson — Getty Images
Zach Gibson — Getty Images
Elon Musk, Tesla/SpaceX: 340 votes
Musk speaks at the 2018 [hotlink]SpaceX[/hotlink] Hyperloop Pod Competition, in Hawthorne, California, on July 22, 2018.Robyn Beck — AFP/Getty Images
Robyn Beck — AFP/Getty Images
Tim Cook, Apple: 183 votes
Cook laughs while Lana Del Rey (with iPad) takes a photo during a launch event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on October 30, 2018.Stephanie Keith — Getty Images
Stephanie Keith — Getty Images
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com: 179 votes
Bezos is taken on a tour of the plants around The Spheres during the grand opening at the Amazon Spheres in Seattle on January 29, 2018.The Washington Post The Washington Post/Getty Images
The Washington Post/Getty Images
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase: 167 votes
Dimon tours the offices of the Jewish Vocational Service in Boston on Dec. 12, 2018.Suzanne Kreiter — Boston Globe via Getty Images
Suzanne Kreiter — Boston Globe via Getty Images
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