Likability factor

A CEO's job isn't to be liked — but that doesn't mean it doesn't feel nice to get a little love.

That's the approach behind Silicon Valley tech firm Owler's debut report on global CEO likability. Owler, which bills itself as the world's largest community-based business insights platform, says it parsed through “thousands of CEO reviews from site users to uncover what people truly think of CEOs.”

Tampa is one of some 40 cities worldwide Owler analyzed in its report. While all CEOs with a profile on the platform were given a ranking, only a fraction were named Owler top-rated CEOs. A top-rated CEO, Owler says on its website, must have 10 or more votes, be rated higher than 80 points and be at least in the top 100 for his or her industry. Owler says there are at least 1 million “active business professionals who share their thoughts and opinions” on its site.

“This year alone, Owler community members have contributed over a quarter million CEO ratings,” the website states. “Out of the 167,000 CEOs on Owler, we'll be distributing 1,000 awards to the top CEOs, meaning that only the creme de la creme of corporate commanders — the top 0.60% — will make the cut.”

Two CEOs in Tampa made that cut: John Zettle, CEO of audio-video technology firm AVI-SPL, a $577 million firm with nearly 1,500 employees, and Keith Olsen, CEO of national data center firm vXchnge. Zettle scored 99.1 out of 100, for the No. 1 ranking in Tampa, while Olsen, with a 98.1 score, ranked No. 2. (St. Petersburg-based Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly won an award with a 92.3 score, No. 25 in the finance industry category, but was not included among Tampa winners.)

Other top executives from well-known brands to make the overall winners list include Delta CEO Ed Bastian, with a 92.9 ranking; Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson, with a 93.9 score; Ritz-Carlton President and COO Herve Humler; BB&T CEO Kelly King with a 94.4 score; and SunTrust Bank CEO Bill Rogers with a 91.5 score.

Another Florida executive on the Owler award list is Chico's FAS President and CEO Shelley Broader, who has a 98.3 score, was good for No. 7 in the retail and e-commerce category.