The top 25 managers I

　　1. Roger Ackerman and John Loose —CORNING

　　2. Roger Enrico—PEPSICO

　　3. Nol Forgeard—AIRBUS

　　4. Carlos Ghosn—NISSAN MOTOR

　　5. Harvey Golub and Kenneth Chenault—AMERICAN EXPRE SS

　　6. Mel Karmazin—VIACOM

　　7. Herbert Kelleher—SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

　　8. Charles Knight and David Farr—EMERSON

　　9. Dennis Kozlowski—TYCO INTERNATIONAL

　　10. Scott Kriens—JUNIPER NETWORKS

　　11. Li Ka-shing—HUTCHISON WHAMPOA

　　12. Tom McKillop—ASTRAZENECA

　　13. David Pottruck and Charles Schwab—CHARLES SCHWA B

　　14. Lee Raymond—EXXON MOBIL

　　15. Wayne Sanders—KIMBERLY-CLARK

　　16. Stephen Sanger—GENERAL MILLS

　　17. LLeonard Schaeffer—WELLPOINT HEALTH NETWORKS

　　18. Thomas Siebel—SIEBEL SYSTEMS

　　19. Martha Stewart—MARTHA STEWART LIVING

　　20. Keiji Tachikawa—NTT DoCoMo

　　21. Craig Venter—CELERA GENOMICS

　　22. Daniel Warmenhoven—NETWORK APPLIANCE

　　23. Sanford Weill—CITIGROUP

　　24. Margaret Whitman—eBAY

　　25. Arnold Zetcher—TALBOTS

　　It wasn't easy being an executive this past year. G lobal growth started slowing, stock markets fell. It tu rned out that the New Economy still followed some of th e old rules after all. Company after company, corporate icons included, had to concede that their performance w as disappointing.

　　Their leaders offered explanations, revised plans, and promised to be more realistic. But boards weren't i n a very forgiving mood: Many executives who couldn't r ise above the skepticism had to step down. It has been a humbling year.

　　For every Richard Thoman, though, there's a Roger A ckerman. Thoman's attempts to retool Xerox Corp. (XPX) for the digital economy sputtered, and he resigned afte r 13 months. Meanwhile, Ackerman turned Corning Inc. (G LW), a company that dates back to the days of Thomas Ed ison, into a leader among optical networking businesses . Ackerman may not be a household name—many of our Top 25 managers for 2000 aren't—but be is as good a standar d-bearer for the group as anyone. He's innovative and b old, and he's even put a successor in place.