“活力双雄”闪耀万事达高层

    万事达卡公司（MasterCard ）CEO彭安杰与非执行董事长理查德•哈森维特是一对黄金搭档。彭安杰出生于印度，曾在花旗集团（Citigroup）、百事（Pepsi）和雀巢（Nestlé）任职，目前在纽约工作。哈森维特是一名英国人，在石油、科技和混凝土行业拥有丰富的经验，目前的工作地点是伦敦。虽然两人相隔遥远，但两人定期通过电子邮件保持联系，连彭安杰自己都说，他对两人之间通信的频率已经不再做记录了。在与《财富》杂志（Fortune）的电话访谈中，他们互开玩笑，对彼此的全局观不吝溢美之词。本刊一再要求彭安杰评价一下两人之间的关系，但他坚持认为，哈森维特主要是作为他与公司董事会之间的协调者，而不是他个人的盟友。

    也难怪彭安杰和哈森维特对两人的合作会如此轻描淡写。毕竟，作为一名非执行董事长，首先就要保持独立，忘记作为CEO密友的身份。但原则上来讲，这两位公司领导人都必须朝着相同的目标努力：努力维护公司股东的利益，确保公司管理井然有序，同时还要收集公司其他董事的建议和反馈。

    要想在共同治理和保持自主之间实现平衡并非易事。实际上，许多公司根本就不愿意进行这样的尝试；调查公司Equilar指出，一半以上的美国大型公司，CEO和董事长职位均由同一人担任。而且，投资者对这种做法也没有意见：以摩根大通（J.P. Morgan Chase）和百事为例，今年五月中旬，这两家公司的股东都投票否决了撤销公司CEO兼任的董事长一职的提议。

    《财富》杂志高管梦之队（ Executive Dream Team）系列活动致力发现各大公司中由董事会成员和高管成员共同组建的成功联盟。作为这个系列活动的一部分，我们要求彭安杰与哈森维特简要介绍一下，他们如何维持CEO与董事长之间微妙关系。他们的答案是：小心驶得万年船。

    其实哈森维特的方法用一句名言来说就是“信任，但需验证。”哈森维特是一名经验丰富的董事，同时还在铁路网公司（Network Rail）担任非执行董事长。铁路网公司是英国一家管理铁路基础设施的私营公司。哈森维特非常清楚，非执行董事长根本不可能阻止公司或董事会做出错误的决策。实际上，在英国，独立董事长是一家公司的标准人事配备，然而英国石油公司（BP）的教训告诉我们，独立董事长根本无法阻止公司危机的发生。“彭安杰很清楚，我会给他最大限度的支持——除非我不想这么做。”

    MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga and Richard Haythornthwaite, the company's nonexecutive chairman of the board, make a great pair. Banga, an Indian-born executive who has worked at Citigroup (C), Pepsi (PEP), and Nestlé, is based in New York. Haythornthwaite, a Brit with experience in the oil, tech, and cement industries, works in London. Despite their lack of proximity the two men e-mail each other so regularly that the CEO says he no longer keeps track of how frequently they correspond. In a telephone chat with Fortune, they banter, each praising the other for his global perspective.

    When pressed to expand on their relationship, though, Banga insists that Haythornthwaite acts chiefly as a facilitator between him and the board -- not as his ally.

    You can't blame Banga and Haythornthwaite for downplaying their collaboration. A nonexecutive chairman, after all, is meant to be an independent, not the CEO's chum. But both leaders, in principle, should be working toward some of the same goals: looking out for the interests of the company's shareholders, ensuring the business is well managed, and soliciting the advice and feedback of other corporate directors.

    Striking the right balance of collegiality and autonomy isn't easy. Indeed, many companies don't even try; at more than half of big U.S. corporations the CEO and chairman are the same person, according to research firm Equilar. And investors seem fine with this: In mid-May, for example, J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and Pepsi shareholders voted down proposals that would have stripped those companies' CEOs of their chairman roles.

    As part of Fortune's ongoing Executive Dream Team series, which will look at successful alliances in the boardroom and C-suite, we asked Banga and Haythornthwaite to offer a glimpse of how they navigate the delicate CEO-chairman relationship. Their answer? Carefully.

    Haythornthwaite's approach is a variation of the axiom "Trust, but verify." A seasoned director who also serves as nonexecutive chair of Network Rail, a private company that manages railroad infrastructure in Britain, he readily acknowledges that a nonexecutive chair doesn't insulate a company or a board from bad decisions. In fact, independent chairs are standard in Britain, but they didn't prevent corporate crises at BP (BP), for example. "Ajay knows I will back him to the hilt -- unless and until I don't."