SAS - Best Executive
Company: SAS
Company Description: SAS is the world leader in providing software and services that enable customers to transform data from all areas of their business into intelligence. SAS solutions help organizations make better, more informed decisions and maximize customer, supplier and organizational relationships. For more than 25 years SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®. Visit www.sas.com.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Executive
Nomination Title: Dr. Jim Goodnight, CEO, SAS
Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2003 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Dr. Jim Goodnight is a committed leader – committed to employees, business
growth and the community. He is also a successful leader, with a 27-year track
record of continuous growth and profitability for the company he co-founded, SAS,
the largest privately held software company in the world. His successes have
earned both Goodnight and SAS prestigious awards, including a 60 Minutes profile
and being named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work
for in America” seven years in a row.Commitment to employees
In 2003, Goodnight guided SAS into the enviable position of never having layoffs,
increasing company-paid employee programs and continuing contributions to
employees’ profit-sharing accounts.Historically, employee turnover at SAS has been less than 5 percent, compared to
the industry’s rate of 20 percent. Goodnight demonstrated his unique management
style when asked by 60 Minutes’ Morley Safer if he understood that people would
be amazed by the exceptional way he treats employees. Goodnight’s answer
was, “What’s wrong with treating your employees well?”Commitment to being a good corporate citizen
SAS’ corporate philanthropic program reflects Goodnight’s belief in the importance
of education. More than 150 nonprofit educational organizations benefited from his
generosity in 2003.
One example of his strong support of education occurred with Goodnight’s
donation of 275 computers and monitors to two high schools in Pasquotank
County, N.C. – a poor, rural community hit hard by recent hurricanes. The
machines will support Pasquotank County and Northeastern High Schools and will
be used to set up computer labs at both locations.
Commitment to acknowledging and developing leadershipSuzanne Gordon epitomizes Goodnight’s commitment to developing leadership
from within. Hired in 1980 as data center coordinator, Gordon moved up the chain
of responsibility and now serves as CIO. This commitment to developing
employees has contributed to their outstanding achievements, such as Gordon’s
being named to “Computerworld’s 2003 Premier 100 IT Leaders.”Commitment to growth in a down economy
While many IT companies downsized, Goodnight saw opportunity and hired more
than 700 new employees in 2003. This additional talent benefits SAS and gives
tremendous professional opportunities to new employees.When the USA PATRIOT Act added to the existing body of anti-money laundering
laws, Goodnight applied SAS’ technical resources to this new business
opportunity, resulting in a solution that businesses can use to meet the new legal
requirements.Goodnight oversaw the acquisition of two companies, Marketmax and
RiskAdvisory and the technology assets of OpRisk Analytics – each providing
unique business technology to SAS.Summary
SAS’ success in 2003 is a testament to Jim Goodnight’s visionary leadership,
proven over nearly 30 years of corporate success, making SAS the renowned
company it is today. He is a worthy candidate for this prestigious award.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:
Company Web site: http://www.sas.com
60 Minutes story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/18/60minutes/main550102.shtml
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/20apr03/60minutes.htmlFortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For:
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/bestcompanies
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/010604/news2.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/12jan04/fortune.htmlCorporate culture:
http://www.sas.com/corporate/worklife/index.htmlSAS Community Relations Program:
http://www.sas.com/corporate/community/index.html
http://www.sas.com/corporate/community/donationguidelines.html
http://www.sas.com/corporate/community/donationinfo.html
http://www.sas.com/corporate/community/commiteducation.htmlPasquotank County Schools computer donation:
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/121203/news1.htmlComputerworld’s 2003 Premier 100 IT Leaders:
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/010603/news1.htmlSAS Anti-Money Laundering and Corporate Compliance solutions:
http://www.sas.com/industry/fsi/aml/
http://www.sas.com/industry/fsi/aml/brochure.pdf
http://www.sas.com/industry/fsi/aml/brochure2.pdf
http://www.sas.com/industry/fsi/aml/market.html
http://www.sas.com/industry/fsi/aml/news.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/18nov03/aml.html
http://www.sas.com/news/sascom/2003q3/feature_launderer.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/27oct03/sox.html
http://www.sas.com/solutions/financial/sox/index.html
http://www.sas.com/solutions/financial/sox/brochure.pdf
http://www.sas.com/solutions/financial/sox/news.html
http://www.cio.com/research/government/edit/sarbox.html
http://www.forbes.com/home/2003/10/29/cz_tk_1029security.html
http://www.windowsfs.com/articles.asp?ID=403
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=14700005
http://www.it-analysis.com/article.php?articleid=11292
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1237103,00.asp
http://www.silicon.com/software/applications/0,39024653,10005777,00.htm
http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030223S0002
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/061803/news1.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/18jun03/fsi.html
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/102003/news1.html
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/111803/news1.html
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/111803/news3.html
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/121703/news1.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/17dec03/ml.htmlGoodnight on acquisitions:
http://www.sas.com/news/sascom/2003q4/column_insidersview.htmlSAS acquires new technologies:
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/120903/news1.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/09dec03/rad.html
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/100803/news1.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/06oct03/marketmax.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/10nov03/marketmax.html
http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/061803/news10.html
http://www.sas.com/news/feature/18jun03/oprisk.html
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:
Dr. Jim Goodnight is CEO, chairman, co-founder and president of SAS Institute,
the world's largest privately held software company.Chief executive since the company's incorporation in 1976, Goodnight continues to
focus on strategic planning for the global business, which provides software and
services that enable customers to transform data from all areas of their business
into intelligence.A native of Wilmington, N.C., Goodnight holds bachelor’s and master's degrees,
as well as a doctorate in statistics from North Carolina State University. He served
on the faculty of NCSU from 1972 to 1976 and continues to serve as an adjunct
professor.