BizJournals Portfolio

The Corporate Zodiac

Jul 09 2008

Back to: Elite C.E.O.'s Are Born Under the Sun

Zodiac Wheel
Howard Schultz
Alan Mulally, Ford Motor President & C.E.O.
Sergey Brin, Google Co-Founder
Warren Buffett
Lloyd Blankfein
Rick Wagoner
Jamie Dimon
Rupert Murdoch
1 of 12
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If the stars were, in fact, best aligned for those C.E.O.'s born in the summer months (see related Odd Numbers blog post), others seem to have found a way to succeed in spite of their more unfortunate astrological signs. Here's how the zodiac has played out for several top executives.
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Howard Schultz, Starbucks C.E.O.
Born: July 19, 1953, in Brooklyn
CANCER

Schultz is the ultimate Cancer: emotionally driven, both in his own dedication to his work and in the way he inspires others to achieve his goals as well. Cancers also tend to be moody and overly sensitive.
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Alan Mulally, Ford Motor President & C.E.O.
Born: August 4, 1945, in Oakland, California
LEO

There's no wonder where Mulally went wrong: by following his Leo instinct to stubbornly cling to one's pride. Resentful of having to change course in front of or at the request of others, Leos are prone to ego-driven missteps—such as mentioning that one's company will run out of money at the end of the year.
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Sergey Brin, Google Co-Founder
August 21, 1973, in Moscow
LEO

Brin, along with his co-founder Larry Page and Google C.E.O. Eric Schmidt, have made a world-domination success of their company through nothing but sheer prideful stubbornness, a distinct Leo trait.
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Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway C.E.O.
August 30, 1930, in Omaha
VIRGO

Warren Buffett does not tend to go in for pointing fingers in typical Virgo fashion, though he has, Virgo-like, attempted to deflect attention from himself and his successes by routinely praising the heads of companies in his portfolio.
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Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs C.E.O.
September 20, 1954, in Bronx, New York
VIRGO

Like Buffett, Blankfein takes the low-key approach, turning attention away from himself. As such, he is also adaptable, appealing to various personalities to get the job done and himself promoted.
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Rick Wagoner, General Motors C.E.O.
February 9, 1953, in Wilmington, Delaware
AQUARIUS

Driven by principles, Aquarians may be noble indeed, but when it comes to business, they also need to consider market forces beyond their high-minded views. So for now, G.M. will continue to push its green-car agenda as far as it may go.
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Jamie Dimon, J.P. Morgan C.E.O.
March 13, 1956, in New York
PISCES

C.E.O.'s born under the Pisces sign, like Dimon, are said to be shy and excessively empathic. Is that why Dimon has personally tried to help former Bear Stearns employees get new jobs?
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Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. C.E.O.
March 11, 1931, in Melbourne, Australia
PISCES

While he's certainly not out grandstanding or making speeches, Murdoch hardly fits the typical Pisces profile: shy and able to relate emotionally to those around them. Murdoch has defied such internal instincts to build his media empire.
Elite C.E.O.'s are Born Under the Sun

Elite C.E.O.'s are Born Under the Sun

What do Warren Buffett, Lloyd Blankfein, and Larry Ellison have in common? Besides being rich old white guys, they also happen to be summer babies -- which turns out to be a great thing for shareholders of the businesses they ... Read more
Portfolio.com's Executive Profiles

Portfolio.com's Executive Profiles

Backgrounds, including employment history and compensation data, and news on more than 500,000 executives of leading public and private companies. Read more