OCCUPATION: CEO of the Gucci Group
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0
PRO: The one-time head of frozen foods at Unilever overcame early "ice cream man" ridicule and steered Gucci through three years of surging sales and profit growth. But his stated philosophy that creativity is more important than the bottom line is intended to reverse the perception that fashion is all about marketing.
CON: Critics say the improvements are residual effects of Polet's predecessors. Also: fashion is all about marketing.
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