Pichai, Zuckerberg, Cook among top 50 CEOs in America

Larry Page is a tough act to follow. But Google CEO Sundar Pichai is holding his own.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai earned the No. 7 spot on Glassdoor's annual list of top CEOs.
James Martin/CNET

Page led last year's Glassdoor list of the top 50 chief executives in the US. Pichai grabbed the No. 7 spot on this year's list, after just eight months on the job.

"Visionary leadership, interesting products, great brand, great perks, very focused on employee development/growth," one Google employee said of Pichai, according to Glassdoor. The list, which ranks the highest-rated CEOs using reviews submitted anonymously for the 12 months between May 2, 2015, and May 1, 2016, covers companies with at least 1,000 employees.

The Highest Rated CEOs of 2016 ^[2] is part of Glassdoor's annua l Employees' Choice Awards ^[3], which honor "companies and leaders throughout the world" based on employee feedback. Glassdoor recognized 18 tech CEOs in this year's top 50, almost all of whom made the list last year. Among them: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (No. 4), LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner (No. 5), Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff (No. 6) and Apple CEO Tim Cook (No. 8).

The highest-ranked tech CEO on the list was Ultimate Software's Scott Scherr (No. 2), whose company provides human resource and payroll software to businesses. Scherr was described by an employee as the "sweetest man alive" and someone who "takes care of anyone and everyone around him," according t o Glassdoor. Scherr was ranked No. 5 last year.

Bob Bechek, who runs management consulting firm Bain & Company, topped the list overall. Four women made the list, though none in the tech industry.

Employees were asked to approve or disapprove of their CEO. They were also offered the option of providing "no opinion." Employees could also share the sentiment around a CEO and the pros and cons of working for a particular company.

Zuckerberg, who was ranked No. 1 in 2013 ^[4], held steady in the No. 4 spot this year. Employees called him phenomenal, inspiring and "totally real," ac cording to Glassdoor.

Cook continued his climb back up the ranks, earning the No. 8 spot this year. He was ranked No. 10 last year and No. 18 in 2014 and 2013. The Apple chief debuted on the 2012 list in the No. 1 spot ^[5], after taking on the role of CEO when company co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down. In addition to approving of Cook, one employee said there were "many great managers [at Apple] especially at the top most levels," according to Glassdoor.

Pichai took the reins at Google ^[6] in October 2015, when the tech giant reorganized under a holding company called Alphabet ^[7].

Glassdoor also released lists for the highest-rated CEOs at mid-size and small US companies, defined as having fewer than 1,000 employees, as well as highest-rated CEOs in Canada, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

You can check out the full ratings, and see where your boss landed, here ^[8].