Fortune Magazine Says Theo Epstein Is ‘World’s No. 1 Leader’

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Magazines like to make lists.

FORTUNE magazine is no exception to that rule, and Thursday the publication came out with its list of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”

Atop that list — higher even than Pope Francis! — is the Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein.

Here’s what the magazine said about Theo:

The Cubs owe their success to a five-year rebuilding program that featured a concatenation of different leadership styles. The team thrived under the affable patience of owner Tom Ricketts, and, later, under the innovative eccentricity of manager Joe Maddon. But most important of all was the evolution of the club’s president for baseball operations, Theo Epstein, the wunderkind executive who realized he would need to grow as a leader in order to replicate in Chicago the success he’d had with the Boston Red Sox.

The article goes on to link to an excerpt from Tom Verducci’s “The Cubs Way,” which I reviewed here on Wednesday.

As you can see from the rest of the Top 50 list, Theo is the only sports executive included. Many of the others are corporate executives or college presidents. Congratulations to Theo for this signature honor! The magazine will be on newsstands next Monday, March 27. Here’s what the cover will look like.