An Icon for Marketers: Steve Heyer CEO

While organizations and corporations give prime value to the concept of teamwork, high-profile CEOs and business leaders prove time and again the value of having one prominent man leading a corporation. Steve Jobs is a wonderful illustration of how important the leader can be. Steve Heyer CEO may also be one more person to think about for executives and leaders.

Before becoming chief executive officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Steve J Heyer was chief operating officer for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. (1998) and CNN (2000). The man proceeded to Coca Cola at the start of the 2000's, becoming COO after first being president of the company. Heyer's claim to fame is primarily in his intelligent financial decisions and innovative approaches.

While working for Coke, he made remarks to fellow business leaders that told them how much he valued creativity and adaptability in commerce. Heyer pushed Coca Cola into becoming more innovative with its marketing methods, showing original methods of tackling the issue to fellow industry leaders. He held it as a truth that a lack of innovation in the company could only mean its rot.

His daring inspired others in the business. Other companies could do naught but follow. The idea behind most of Heyer's remarks was that businesses should learn to respond properly to economic and social developments in the societal framework.

Various alterations in the current state of the market and economy make Heyer's advice pertinent. According to him, businesses had to deal with consumers who were more empowered than ever before. He also insisted on businesses recognizing the strong drive towards personalized production and advertising.

Steve Heyer was right. As Heyer predicted, the market has gone over to the side of personalizing approaches, advertising, products, and experiences. As you can see from the latest electronic toys these days, options for personalization are key to winning over consumers.

New cultures have been created, mostly dominated by the empowered youth of America. The cultural value of products plays a pivotal role in their success. Heyer foresaw this, and warned colleagues to prepare for it.

This was a few years back, before people came to see how right Heyer was. The crisis of the economy had not yet popped up by then. This was before social network media websites personalized and customized the Internet as never before.

In his address, he warned music executives that the traditional way by which they used to distribute music will very soon turn obsolete. The customization-focused consumers of the future, he alleged, would change the way the music industry worked. He warned TV executives as well of “the changing media consumption habits of younger generations”.

In addressing people from the media, he, Steve Heyer CEO, reminded them that “I used to be one of you too,” and therefore admonished them to redefine the way they did business. He managed to do wonderful things for his company. To promote the Coke brand, he even thought up a way to get a Coca Cola in front of every judge in the TV show, American Idol.