Fortune's pick: Ken Chenault, CEO, American Express
Why didn't Fortune pick Steve Jobs?
Readers overwhelmingly named Jobs, who recently stepped down as CEO of Apple, as their Dream CEO. (Fortune's pick, Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express, got 5% of the vote.) Why didn't we pick Jobs? We set out "to field a team that could coalesce and dominate in any industry" -- and we felt Jobs' accomplishments are inextricably tied to his stature and zeal as company founder. Could he have replicated his successes at Apple and Pixar (now part of Disney) at, say, Wal-Mart or Exxon? We didn't think so -- and Apple shareholders and customers wouldn't have wanted him to try.
