Novartis -- Vasella Cures Your Boring CEO Blues

When it comes to public commentary, CEOs often fit one of two common stereotypes.

The vast majority tread carefully within their scripted "core messages," seemingly as bored with those messages as we are. Occasionally, they throw out an off-the-cuff quip that reminds us that a human being -- and one with intelligence and a sense of humor, at that -- toils underneath the corpcomms veneer.

A small minority, on the other hand, prefer to speak their own minds. They bristle at being managed, and take pride in talking from the gut. But those gut musings that make so much sense inside the fortress are often interpreted differently by the outside world, particularly news-starved journalists. "So, you'd love to buy that annoying new competitor? Thanks, I gotta go file my story now."

One of the sharp exceptions to those stereotypes is Novartis boss Daniel Vasella. A medical doctor who came to the business relatively late for somebody who runs one of Europe's biggest enterprises, Vasella is as broadly skilled as a CEO gets, with a particular obsession for art, design, architecture and other things aesthetic. In other words, he's actually an interesting guy beyond the fact that he's the CEO that a 2004 FT survey found to be the most influential European business leader of the previous 25 years.

Jack did a small, meaningless consulting project years ago at the Basel HQ. And in doing his homework for that gig, he noticed that Vasella frequently demonstrates a unique understanding of how the news world works, riffing with seeming spontaneity and candor, but often with very deliberate strategic intent.

Consider how he dealt the other day with speculation about a possible combination with Germany's Bayer. Disclosure regs and negotiation sensitivities always make commenting on such speculation quite tricky, and the conservative route is almost always the wisest. But Vasella has long been irritated by hedge funds using rumors (and using journalists) to generate valuation-whacking headlines. So he covers the obligatory language, and then shines a light in the dark corners to get the rats running.

"We do not comment on rumours. As an observer one has to ask oneself a question about the logic. Who stands to benefit? Certain investors and hedge funds could gain a lot of money thanks to such rumours."

Uh, thanks, Dan. Despite the fact that you do not comment on rumors, we think we know where you stand on hitching up with Bayer, not to mention the hedge fund guys.

Vasella occasionally outruns his own good judgment for no apparent strategic benefit. But overall, he's clear about his general philosophy about talking to the outside world, telling the FT's Haig Simonian and Andrew Jack:

"The more vague you leave your strategy, the more freedom you have. The more you communicate, the more you become a hostage to fortune, and the more it can get dangerous. But saying nothing also has its price."

Edgy, tactical sound-bites, it would seem, deliver better results than revealing a grand plan.