Visual Capitalist

Who Are America’s Most Popular CEOs?

What do the employees at America’s largest companies think of the leadership?

To answer that, we visualize CEO approval ratings gathered by professional social network Blind. 

The results are based on a survey of 13,171 verified professionals in the U.S., conducted between Aug. 18–23, 2023. Respondents were asked if they approve or disapprove of the way their CEO is handling their job.

By far, the most popular CEO right now (according to Blind’s respondents anyway) is Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, with an astonishing 96 percent approval rating.

Huang’s numbers point to a theme in the data. Blind notes that there is a correlation between company stock performance and CEO approval rating. Nvidia’s critical role in the artificial intelligence hype train has sent shares up nearly 3x year-on-year. Their financials for the last three quarters show that profit is already up more than four-fold from last year.

Crucially, Huang also avoided layoffs that were otherwise rampant in the tech industry, helping his popularity among the staff.

In fact, the Blind survey uncovered that all of the 10 most popular CEOs, with the exception of Andrew Anag from AutoDesk, did not  cut jobs in the last year.

View the infographic

The Least Popular CEOs by Employee Approval Ratings

Eric Nordstrom (Nordstrom) and David Goeckeler (Western Digital) shared the lowest approval rating possible in the poll: 0 percent. From Blind’s methodology section, this means not a single surveyed employee answered “strongly approve” or “somewhat approve” to the question.

Both companies cut nearly 200 jobs in 2023, with Nordstrom also responsible for the job losses amongst the company’s wage workers, who staffed the many retail stores the company shuttered.

Also featuring on this list of least-liked CEOs: Evan Spiegel (3 percent), who reduced Snap’s workforce by a fifth and Linda Yaccarino (4 percent), who heads X (formerly Twitter) that has been in turmoil since Elon Musk acquired the company in October, 2022.

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New California law will compensate

consumers defrauded by businesses

By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters

Businesses that defraud consumers sometimes pay a couple of thousand dollars in civil penalties under current California law. Or they’ll be ordered to pay millions of dollars, but close down or declare bankruptcy, leaving their victims without compensation.

A new law effective Jan. 1 will help change that: It will establish a restitution fund in the state treasury that can be used to try to fully reimburse consumers.

Assembly Bill 1366 will let the state attorney general pursue disgorgement, or repayment of ill-gotten gains, in cases where companies violate unfair competition or false advertising laws. The money recovered would go into the new fund. 

“When a predatory business takes advantage of a consumer, it’s only right that the proceeds gained from illegal conduct should go towards compensating victims rather than remaining in the bank accounts of bad actors,” state Assemblymember Brian Maienschein,

a Democrat from San Diego who authored the legislation, said after the governor signed it in October.

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NASA sets coverage for ULA,

Astrobotic Artemis robotic moon launch

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis program, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Astrobotic are targeting 2:18 a.m. EST Monday, Jan. 8, for the first commercial robotic launch to the Moon’s surface. Carrying NASA science, liftoff of ULA’s Vulcan rocket and Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander will happen from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Peregrine will land on the Moon on Friday, Feb. 23. The NASA payloads aboard the lander aim to help the agency develop capabilities needed to explore the Moon under Artemis and in advance of human missions on the lunar surface.

San Diego County Fair’s Street Banner Program announced

The San Diego County Fair is kicking off its 2024 community outreach efforts by

opening up applications for its Street Banner Program. The program is one of the more beloved activities of the community-centric San Diego County Fair, which also features myriad programs for youth, nonprofits, families, various diasporas, and others.

Cities and community organizations will have two weeks to submit an application to participate in the program this year. 

During the 2023 Fair season — after a three-year Street Banner Program hiatus that was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic — more than 800 street banners were installed in 17 communities around the county, within the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, and Lemon Grove.

Community leaders are encouraged to visit the Fair’s website and submit an online application to participate in the program no later than Monday, January 15, 2024. Photo sessions are scheduled to take place during the month of February.

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Scripps scientists study atmospheric

rivers with Hurricane Hunter flights

Hurricane Hunter flights gathering data on atmospheric rivers to improve weather forecasting led by Scripps scientists in La Jolla have resumed for the winter. Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow atmospheric regions, typically several thousand kilometers long and only a few hundred kilometers wide, that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. They can carry a greater flux of water than Earth’s largest river, the Amazon, and have been increasing slightly in intensity over the past century.

To better understand and forecast atmospheric rivers, “Hurrican Hunter” aircraft from the U.S. Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron began flights in November over the Pacific Ocean to last through March. It is part of the Atmospheric River Reconnaissance program led by the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Scripps to pay $6.8 million, rescind mandatory retirement age policy

Scripps Clinic Medical Group has agreed to pay more than $6.8 million to resolve allegations that it imposed a mandatory retirement age on physician employees. The settlement agreement stems from age and disability discrimination allegations filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the EEOC, a subsequent investigation concluded there was “reasonable cause to believe that Scripps Clinic Medical Group violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”

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GoMacro benefits Feeding San Diego and Solutions for Change

GoMacro, known for its organic, plant-based nutrition bars, announced their continued partnership with Feeding San Diego and Solutions for Change for the eighth year in a row. As part of GoMacro’s Give Back Bar program, a percentage of annual net proceeds from the Everlasting Joy MacroBar is donated to the two nonprofit orgganizations.

Southern Border Coalition seeking nominations

The California Jobs First’s Southern Border Coalition is seeking members of the community to serve as leaders in shaping a resilient carbon-neutral economy in San Diego and Imperial counties. They will play a key role in creating an inclusive economic development plan focused on green jobs in disinvested communities. Interested parties may apply using the Sector Lead Nomination & Application form, which describes the 15 sectors as well as sector lead responsibilities.

Oceanside names new assistant chief of police

Oceanside Police announced that Capt. Taurino Valdovinos will be the department’s next assistant chief of police, replacing assistant chief Sean Marchand, who retired. Valdovinos has been with Oceanside Police for 20 years and has worked on a variety of specialized assignments, including the Gang Suppression Unit, Special Enforcement Section and the Neighborhood Police Team, according to the department.

Oceanside accepts Fish and Wildlife funds for sand dune project

The City of Oceanside has accepted a $56,876 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to install and monitor dunes on the backend of several northern city beaches as part of a pilot project to restore habitat and retain sand. The City Council unanimously approved the Oceanside Coastal Dune Restoration Project funds at its Dec. 20 meeting. The project will test a nature-based sand retention solution by installing dunes to help protect the shoreline from rising sea levels and coastal flooding by elevating the beach, acting as a buffer between the ocean and local infrastructure.

Carlsbad to consider increasing affordable housing minimums

The Carlsbad Housing Commission voted on Dec. 14 to recommend increasing the minimum affordability requirements for new residential developments and rezoning city-owned land to help meet the city’s state-mandated affordable housing goals. The commission’s approval sends the proposal to the City Council, which is set to review and consider the proposed changes on Jan. 30, 2024. The city is addressing the gap between planned affordable housing and actual construction by setting higher minimum affordability requirements.

County Water Authority to drop lawsuit over Rainbow, Fallbrook departures

The San Diego County Water Authority has agreed to drop its lawsuit over the proposed departure of two North County water agencies, it was announced Dec. 21. The lawsuit filed earlier this year challenged a decision by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission to allow the Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utility District to leave the water authority. The recent settlement allows Rainbow and Fallbrook’s water agencies to depart and includes a $25 million payment from both agencies, plus other costs and fees.

NCTD board approves Shawn Donaghy as next CEO

The North County Transit District Board of Directors unanimously approved Shawn M. Donaghy as the agency’s new CEO. Donaghy will take over for interim Executive Director Paul Ballard – who was brought on after the retirement of long-time Executive Director Matthew O. Tucker. Donaghy’s appointment follows a four-month, nationwide search by the board of directors. Most recently, Donaghy was the CEO of C-TRAN in Vancouver, Washington.