People to Watch In International Business

By Joseph R. Santo, Daren Fonda

Norbert Reithofer

CEO, BMW

BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz last year as the car industry's top-selling premium brand. In keeping with BMW's unwritten age limit of 60, production boss Reithofer will replace CEO Helmut Panke on Sept. 1, the day after Panke's 60th birthday. Reithofer obviously has a tough act to follow, since the company expects to top its 2004 record net profit of $2.7 billion. Reithofer has been the keeper of BMW's flexible production system, considered a model for the car industry. The former head of BMW's South Carolina plant, he is more than familiar with the U.S. market, and he has plans to increase share there. The challenge for BMW will be not only to make cars that are fun to drive but also to increase fuel efficiency, one of the automaker's few weak spots.

Jeffrey Kindler

CEO, PFIZER

Bosses of pharmaceutical companies tend to have a background in science or medicine. Jeffrey Kindler, 51, took a different path to the top of Pfizer, a position he won in July when Pfizer's board chose him to replace Henry McKinnell. A Harvard-educated lawyer, Kindler represented corporate clients from General Electric to McDonald's before joining Pfizer in 2002. He also did a stint as CEO of McDonald's shaky Boston Market restaurant chain.

So what's a corporate lawyer doing atop the world's largest drug company? Saving it in court. The company is facing a flood of legal challenges. Among them: drugmaker Novo Nordisk recently claimed patent infringements for Pfizer's upcoming inhaled-insulin drug, Exubera, and Pfizer is being sued over Celebrex, its controversial Cox-2 inhibitor pain medication. Bonus points: Kindler knows his way around Washington, which should help Pfizer navigate the regulatory swamp. He has some operations cred too. At McDonald's, he led the turnaround of Boston Market.

Of course, shrewd lawyering won't help Pfizer where it matters most: developing new medicines. Pfizer's biggest product, Lipitor, could lose its patent protection within four years. And Wall Street is losing patience with the pace of new-drug development. Pfizer's share price has slumped more than 30% since 2001. Former CEO McKinnell didn't help matters, appearing aloof to investor concerns while pocketing more than $140 million during his tenure, including a retirement package worth an estimated $83 million. Mending fences with shareholders will be critical for Kindler. They are, after all, paying his salary.