13 Tech CEOs With The Highest Approval Ratings

Top Tech CEOs

One measure of a company's health is how strongly its own employees believe in the CEO's strategy, vision and ability to execute. Glassdoor, a website that posts employees' anonymous reviews of their employers, recently unveiled the winners of its Employees' Choice Awards for the Highest Rated CEOs in 2015. Its list of the top 50 CEOs of large companies (those with 1,000 or more employees, based on reviews from U.S. employees throughout the year) includes a number of IT companies. Some are hardware and software vendors, some play big in the cloud, while still others are large solution providers.

Here, we look at the 13 CEOs of enterprise IT companies that made the cut.

13. Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe

Shantanu Narayen, CEO of software giant Adobe, is ranked No. 47 on the list of top 50 CEOs, with an 89 percent approval rating, according to Glassdoor.

Narayen has been at the helm of Adobe since 2007. Some Glassdoor reviewers applaud Narayen and his management team for pushing employees to find other opportunities within the company, saying "management encourages employees to stretch outside of their areas of comfort to discover their potential."

Other reviewers say they would give a higher reviewer rating if the company's senior management would extend communications to even lower-level employees, rather than just midlevel managers.

12. Brad Jackson, CEO, Slalom Consulting

Brad Jackson co-founded Slalom Consulting, a Seattle-based business and technology consulting firm, back in 2001, and holds the position of CEO of the company.

Jackson garnered an 89 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, earning him the No. 45 spot in the rankings of CEOs of large companies and No. 12 among enterprise IT companies.

Many Glassdoor reviewers of the company praised the company culture Jackson's management team has built, saying they feel "free" and "independent" and that they can make their own way. One reviewer wrote: "I have absolute confidence in the leadership of Slalom and the direction the company is headed. The key will be in keeping the culture while the company grows and matures."

11. Joseph A. Tarantino, CEO, Protiviti

Joseph Tarantino snagged the No. 40 spot in Glassdoor's list, with a 90 percent approval rating, and placing No. 11 among enterprise IT companies. He has held the position of president and CEO of Protiviti since 2007. Protiviti is a global business consulting firm that offers a slew of consulting solutions in IT, including IT governance and risk management, security program and strategy services.

Some reviewers note that Tarantino's management team does its best to help employees solve complex problems. Others recognize managers for building a good work culture.

"Keep doing what you're doing," one reviewer wrote in the advice to management section. "Keep fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and camaraderie. Keep being accessible."

10. Brian M. Krzanich, CEO, Intel

Brian Krzanich has been the CEO of Intel since May of 2013. He garnered a 90 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers over the past year, good for No. 39 on the list and No. 10 among enterprise IT companies.

Multiple reviewers of the company noted that Krzanich and team make an effort to recognize workers who go above and beyond the responsibilities of their respective positions, saying, "Keep up the good work recognizing the people who deliver." Other reviewers note that there may be too many layers of management at the company, and it would be helpful to trim it down to people with more of a management background instead of strictly people who have succeeded in their technology backgrounds.

9. Brad Smith, president and CEO, Intuit

Brad Smith has been at the helm of the financial software vendor since 2008. Intuit is the company behind popular applications such as TurboTax, Mint, Quicken and QuickBooks.

Smith received a 91 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, good for No. 36 on the site's list of highest rated CEOs of large companies and No. 9 among enterprise IT companies.

One reviewer couldn't praise the head of the company enough when writing, "GREAT CEO! Seriously, Intuit employees don't understand just how talented their CEO is. [The company has a] drive to be better all the time ... and that is led from the front by Brad Smith."

Others commented that "management is approachable and supportive."

8. Vishal Sikka, CEO, Infosys

Vishal Sikka was named CEO of IT outsourcing giant Infosys in June of last year. Since then, he has received a 91 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, earning him the No. 35 spot on the list and No. 8 among enterprise IT companies.

Some reviewers expressed that they've experienced "good support from the managers," while others said they'd like to "encourage senior management to connect with the younger folks."

7. Thomas E. Richards, chairman and CEO, CDW

Thomas Richards has been the CEO of solution provider behemoth CDW since 2011, and took on the role of chairman in 2013.

Richards garnered an approval rating of 91 percent from Glassdoor reviewers, landing him in the No. 34 spot in the website's ranking and No. 7 among enterprise IT companies.

One reviewer directly praised the company's CEO, saying quite simply, "Tom Richards is awesome," while others praised CDW management's philosophy of being "flexible with work-life balance."

6. Frank D'Souza, co-founder and CEO, Cognizant

Frank D'Souza co-founded solution provider giant Cognizant Technology Solutions in 1994, and was named CEO in January 2007.

Over the past year, D'Souza has garnered a 91 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, placing him at No. 33 on the website's list of highest-rated CEOs and No. 6 among enterprise IT companies.

One reviewer wrote that Cognizant has "excellent leadership/management," but also noted that the company "needs to have some personal touch with the associates; growing too fast and too large has dissociated the associates from the organization."

5. John Veihmeyer, chairman and CEO, KPMG US and global chairman of KPMG International

John Veihmeyer is the chairman and CEO of professional services firm KPMG US.

Veihmeyer received a 91 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, ranking him at No. 42 on the website's list of CEOs of large companies, and No. 5 on the list of CEOs of large tech companies.

The company recently announced that it will be appointing Lynne Doughtie as CEO beginning July 1. Doughtie currently leads KPMG's advisory business. Veihmeyer is stepping down to focus exclusively on his international role.

Many reviewers applauded the great work-life balance the company upholds, with one reviewer noting the "numerous project opportunities and mostly engaged and smart managers," making KPMG a great place to work and even develop a career.

4. Marc Benioff, founder, chairman and CEO, Salesforce.com

Marc Benioff started cloud computing software company Salesforce.com in 1999. Over the past year, he earned an approval rating of 92 percent from Glassdoor reviewers, putting him at No. 21 on the website's list of most highly rated CEOs of large companies and No. 4 among enterprise IT companies.

Reviewers spoke highly of Benioff, with one writing, "The CEO is a genuine visionary and philanthropist." Others praised the commitment of the management team as a whole, with one reviewer writing, "Management is focused on the latest tech trends and staying or becoming a leader for many of them."

3. John Legere, president and CEO, T-Mobile

John Legere was appointed president and CEO of telecommunications giant T-Mobile in September 2012.

Legere over the past year has garnered a 93 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, ranking him at No. 14 on the list and No. 3 among enterprise IT companies.

Many reviewers gave high praise to Legere, with one reviewer writing that T-Mobile has a "strong CEO leading the company" and noting that employees of all levels, including retail stores, "have opportunities to meet the CEO, which is rare at most major companies."

Another reviewer did not temper his admiration for the company head: "Love John Legere! You are the greatest CEO ever!"

Other reviewers praised the company for its "great management and great opportunities to develop."

2. Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Tim Cook was named CEO of hardware and software giant Apple in August of 2011, succeeding company co-founder Steve Jobs.

Cook garnered a 94 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers over the past year, earning him the No. 10 spot on the website's list of highest-rated CEOs of large companies and No. 2 among enterprise IT companies.

One reviewer wrote that Cook and team are "supportive," while another wrote: "The leadership cares about your development. You may get coaching but you never get battered or belittled."

An additional reviewer praised the opportunity for advancement: "Management was great. I have nothing but good things to say about management. If you put in the effort they will do their best to get you promoted."

1. Larry Page, co-founder and CEO, Google

Larry Page is the co-founder and CEO of Google, which he and college roommate Sergey Brin launched in 1998. Under his leadership, Google has grown to be the largest search engine in the world, and the creator of Android, the most widely used mobile operating system in the world, as well as the purveyor of a number of cloud-based productivity tools.

Page garnered a 97 percent approval rating from Glassdoor reviewers, good for the No. 1 spot in the rankings of CEOs of large companies as well as the top spot among enterprise IT companies.

Some of the reviewers praised the company for having "extremely transparent leadership (for the most part)." Additionally, one reviewer wrote, "Management is good and they go to great efforts not to have any biases and review people based on their performance alone."