塞繆爾?艾倫

????公司：約翰迪爾

????《財富》500強排名：85

????這家農用機械公司足足有176年的歷史，但艾倫只是它第9位CEO，而且他也并不是第一位把一生都奉獻給公司的領導人。37年前，艾倫在大學管理課上被公司選中，成為公司的工業工程師。艾倫幾乎曾就職于約翰迪爾的每一個部門和每一個業務部——他認為自己在公司的成功和2009年被任命為CEO都應歸功于經歷的多樣化。對于長期在一家公司工作，他的觀點是：“你最后對公司會有更深刻的理解，也更清楚要想持續有好的表現需要付出什么。”另外一個優勢：他與同事建立了貫穿整個職業生涯的關系。他們總是能給他提供誠懇公正的反饋，即使他已經貴為CEO。

Samuel Allen

????Company: John Deere

????Fortune 500 rank: 85

????Only the 9th CEO in the farm equipment company's 176-year history, Allen is hardly the first 'lifer' to lead John Deere. He joined the company 37 years ago as an industrial engineer after being recruited from his college management class. Allen has worked in every division and almost every business unit at Deere—a diversity of experience that he credits for his success at the company and promotion to CEO in 2009. "You end up having many more insights into the business and what it takes for sustained high performance," he says of being a lifer. Another plus: He's developed career-long relationships with colleagues who are comfortable giving him candid feedback, even though he is the CEO.