« All Columns
CEO Morning Report
Raised and educated in the U.K., Heilman, a graduate of Williams College, came to New York City in 1987 to embark on a 17-year business development career with domestic and international companies in new media and information technology. In 2004, he became an independent journalist. Today, his work spans the publishing spectrum, with numerous writing and photography credits in custom, trade and consumer outlets.
Covering the business and financial world, he has written for Crain's New York Business, The Deal, Chief Executive and Directorship. As a regular contributor to the custom magazines of several major U.S. law firms, he covers topics such as finance, public policy and intellectual property.
His portfolio also includes copywriting for A&E Television Networks' marketing department, city, hotel and car reviews for Business Traveler USA, and business white papers and POVs for professional services organizations such as Convergys. On the human interest front, he recently interviewed Bill Anders, the Apollo 8 astronaut famed for taking the unforgettable Earthrise photograph, for Valor, a magazine dedicated to World War II veterans.
In 2006, he was managing editor of FordBoldMoves.com, the award-winning documentary-style website of Ford Motor Company.
Heilman is a regular contributor to Trader Monthly and Corporate Leader, and can be reached at info@jaheilman.com.
Recent Columns
I Think, Therefore Icahn
The latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary introduces some new words to our lexicon, including Norovirus, soju and pescatarian.
posted:
Tuesday July 8th - 7:58am
READ MORE
Forbidden Fruit?
posted:
Monday July 7th - 7:51am
READ MORE
When Life Gives You Potatoes
posted:
Thursday July 3rd - 7:40am
READ MORE
Relying On Instinct
posted:
Wednesday July 2nd - 5:44am
READ MORE
Well Wishes
posted:
Tuesday July 1st - 9:38am
READ MORE
One Gate Closes
posted:
Monday June 30th - 6:11am
READ MORE
Water Works
posted:
Friday June 27th - 6:01am
READ MORE
Dubailand In Bad Decline
posted:
Thursday June 26th - 6:21am
READ MORE
An IKEA Grows In Brooklyn
posted:
Wednesday June 25th - 6:25am
READ MORE
Voting Block
As one commentator on Carl Icahn’s blogsite says, “The most effective activism is at the shareholder voting level; the other method is at the political level.”
posted:
Tuesday June 24th - 6:19am
READ MORE
Beaus of Indomitable Leadership
posted:
Monday June 23rd - 6:14am
READ MORE
Reality Checks
posted:
Friday June 20th - 6:26am
READ MORE
New York, New York
posted:
Thursday June 19th - 6:21am
READ MORE
Kitchen Confidential
posted:
Wednesday June 18th - 6:18am
READ MORE
Before They Make Me Run
posted:
Tuesday June 17th - 5:58am
READ MORE
Real Men of Genius
posted:
Monday June 16th - 6:10am
READ MORE
The Inestimable Mr. Tips
What do funeral homes, helicopter tours and executive-level dogs have in common? These are just some of the synergistic elements employed to great effect by San Antonio-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert “Dick” Tips, once introduced by Jay Leno as “the most interesting person in Texas.”
posted:
Friday June 13th - 6:22am
READ MORE
So You Think You Can CEO?
posted:
Thursday June 12th - 6:56am
READ MORE
Energy Rush
posted:
Wednesday June 11th - 6:25am
READ MORE
Spectacular Achievements, Unspectacular Preparation
In 1969--six years after winning the Heisman Trophy, getting drafted in the tenth round and serving in the Navy, Vietnam included--he joined the Dallas Cowboys as a 27-year old rookie quarterback. In 1970, he took his first foray into commercial real estate.
posted:
Tuesday June 10th - 5:51am
READ MORE
Smart Connect
posted:
Monday June 9th - 6:13am
READ MORE
Putsched Back
posted:
Friday June 6th - 6:12am
READ MORE
Das Book
posted:
Thursday June 5th - 6:08am
READ MORE
Drill Down
posted:
Wednesday June 4th - 5:49am
READ MORE
The Toxic Executive?
posted:
Tuesday June 3rd - 6:08am
READ MORE
Crude Math
posted:
Monday June 2nd - 6:16am
READ MORE
Duh Vinci Code
posted:
Friday May 30th - 5:50am
READ MORE
Twenty Hubs, No HQ
posted:
Thursday May 29th - 5:51am
READ MORE
Marble Mouths?
posted:
Wednesday May 28th - 6:08am
READ MORE
Living, Learning and Leisure
Texas folks sure are hospitable. They even allowed a NY Giants fan on the Texas Stadium turf, where an everlasting memory will be kicking a 30-yard field goal in my dress shoes. And speaking of hospitality, Burt Cabañas' mastery of the art began years ago poolside at the Shelbourne Hotel in Miami Beach.
posted:
Tuesday May 27th - 6:07am
READ MORE
Texas Round-Up
posted:
Friday May 23rd - 6:07am
READ MORE
Texas Pet Rocks
posted:
Thursday May 22nd - 6:16am
READ MORE
Austin On My Mind
posted:
Wednesday May 21st - 6:13am
READ MORE
Energetic Texas
posted:
Tuesday May 20th - 6:11am
READ MORE
T-Bone Stakes
posted:
Monday May 19th - 5:58am
READ MORE
Texas Power Towers
posted:
Friday May 16th - 6:20am
READ MORE
Texas Breakfast
Greeting from the Big D and the North Texas Metroplex ("metropolitan complex").
posted:
Thursday May 15th - 8:25am
READ MORE
Live Large. Think Big.
That's the official motto of Dallas, but it flies equally well for Texas, America's mammoth second largest state and with a history and spirit of independence to match. Originally a territory of Spain and then Mexico, Texas became its own nation in 1836 before joining the U.S. in 1845; having flown under six different flags, Texas and its people have a fierce attitude of hard-won pride.
posted:
Wednesday May 14th - 5:28am
READ MORE
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
posted:
Tuesday May 13th - 6:24am
READ MORE
Grave Matters
This time last year, oil was $62 a barrel. On Friday, it finished at double that amount, with the national average for a gallon of gas hovering around $4. In the same time period, the dollar dropped 15% against the euro. Consequently, reports the NY Times, hedge funds, pension funds and other institutional investors are going short on oil to offset losses in stocks, bonds and other dollar-backed assets.
posted:
Monday May 12th - 7:15am
READ MORE
Full Steam Ahead
posted:
Friday May 9th - 6:22am
READ MORE
Secret of Their Success
posted:
Thursday May 8th - 6:42am
READ MORE
Whale Spam
posted:
Wednesday May 7th - 6:10am
READ MORE
American Brand Strand
posted:
Tuesday May 6th - 6:43am
READ MORE
MicroWho?
posted:
Monday May 5th - 6:48am
READ MORE
Vision 2010
posted:
Friday May 2nd - 6:08am
READ MORE
Spectra-Graph
posted:
Thursday May 1st - 6:18am
READ MORE
Doubles, Triples and ChaChas
posted:
Wednesday April 30th - 8:34am
READ MORE
Big MACs
"Material adverse changes" are provisions associated with M&A transactions that guard against events that diminish the value or attractiveness of an acquisition target. These changes can range from terrorist acts to the trading volume of a target’s stock.
posted:
Tuesday April 29th - 7:31am
READ MORE
Anything to Declare?
posted:
Monday April 28th - 6:22am
READ MORE
The Executive Kool-Aid Alpha Test
posted:
Thursday April 24th - 11:23pm
READ MORE
Active Cultures
posted:
Thursday April 24th - 7:12am
READ MORE
Does Your CEO Have a Blog?
posted:
Wednesday April 23rd - 7:23am
READ MORE
Capital Thinking
There's an old joke about American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock--the punch line is whatever you say it is. Economic news continues to splatter about in similar fashion--recessing, rebounding--and on it goes.
posted:
Tuesday April 22nd - 6:39am
READ MORE
Bone Yard
What happens to senior executives in retirement? If you are Michael Amery, a former globe-trotter with Bristol-Myers Squibb, you open a luxurious, private B&B in the heart of Pennsylvania's Bucks County.
posted:
Monday April 21st - 7:22am
READ MORE
The Grand SCM of Things
posted:
Friday April 18th - 7:11am
READ MORE
Vulture Capital
Promised you five more 40 under 40 web reviews today, but as perfected by the co-CEOs of my former tech start-up, I’m afraid it’s a case of overpromise and underdeliver. Where did those five million VC pounds go again? Ah yes, many a first-class airline seat, and those lovely glass-bricked walls in the office, the better to obscure the VC-lopping of CEO heads.
posted:
Thursday April 17th - 7:15am
READ MORE
40 Under 40: ‘Net Asset Value
Not book value for valuation purposes, but now that Corporate Leader has introduced its top 40 CEOs under 40, I decided to tour and evaluate the websites of the selectees’ companies, as well as visiting blog aggregator Technorati.com to see who, if anyone, is discussing our Fab 40. Here are the first five, from the top.
posted:
Wednesday April 16th - 7:14am
READ MORE
Paging Bud Fox
Why do people say Delta’s the best thing that ever happened to air travel?
posted:
Tuesday April 15th - 6:45am
READ MORE
Meet the New Boss(es)
Not too long ago, they were sporting graduation mortarboards. Now their headgear is market caps, some valued in the billions. Who are they?
posted:
Monday April 14th - 6:43am
READ MORE
The Shroud of Linen
There are a few low-level ex-Gotti wiseguys still floating around my Brooklyn neighborhood. You hear things—you know, things—and I have it on good authority there’s one guy in particular you go see if you need a problem fixed.
posted:
Friday April 11th - 7:37am
READ MORE
Hoopla!
posted:
Thursday April 10th - 6:39am
READ MORE
Think
Coming up in business, I heard about the pervasive "Think" culture at IBM. Even bathroom time was meant to be productive--remember that old saw about "Think" being pasted on the backs of stall doors? As a dot.com road warrior, I also heard how fast the IBM sales guys liked to work, pushing for the close at the first meeting.
posted:
Wednesday April 9th - 6:29am
READ MORE
Mystery Solved?
Famed ad-libbing comedian Ernie Kovacs once riffed on television thus: "A medium, so-called because it is neither rare nor well done." Had he not died so young, he would have seen the reality (TV) of his joke. And what might he have made of the blogosphere? Frustration, most likely. Kovacs was big on breaking down the "fourth wall" to show viewers the action behind the scenes--but it's not as easy to see talking heads on the web. How much does seeing a speaker influence belief in and acceptance of their message?
posted:
Tuesday April 8th - 7:07am
READ MORE
C-Suite Spot
posted:
Monday April 7th - 6:41am
READ MORE
American History 2.X
posted:
Friday April 4th - 8:32am
READ MORE
Moving Forward In Retreat
posted:
Thursday April 3rd - 7:05am
READ MORE
Pig Perfume?
posted:
Wednesday April 2nd - 8:24am
READ MORE
Sense of Humor, Failure
posted:
Tuesday April 1st - 6:38am
READ MORE
« All Columns
CorporateLeaderTV