Young Guns: America's Youngest CEOs

Oct. 12, 2007 Special to ABCNEWS.com — -- In case you haven't noticed, the stereotypical image of a silver-haired 50-something chief executive wearing a perfectly dimpled necktie is fading.

The top dog at the company no longer has to fit that mold to gain the trust of his or her peers and shareholders. Authority and competence are no longer found just in a look — and age and experience don't always dictate performance.

Click here to see America's youngest CEOs at our partner site, Forbes.com.

Take the youthful Michael Chasen, the 36-year-old CEO and co-founder of Blackboard, a developer and marketer of educational software. He started the venture with his college roommate, Matthew Pittinsky, in 1997, and has since helped it grow into a $183 million company that services students around the globe.

Despite being as high as one can go in the world of corporate job titles, Chasen is not one to rest on his — or his company's — laurels.

"Forever seems like a little bit of a long time," Chasen said. "To me, all we've really done is make sure we have a spot at starting line of the race."

And he definitely wants to take Blackboard the distance.

Chasen said age, to a point, does matter in the tech business, since it's typically the younger generation that has kept its finger on the industry's pulse. So, naturally, he was an early adopter of the iPhone, and has a Facebook profile. Even as a millionaire, a CEO can still afford to be a kid from time to time.

Based on a list sorted by BoardEx, a business research company, there are 29 chief executives in his peer group, 36 years and younger, standing out as the youngest leaders of public companies in corporate America. Whether the duties have been inherited through family or established on one's own, reaching this mark — and staying there — is no mean feat.

Jose Ramon Mas, 35, CEO and president of MasTec, sits atop the list as the youngest president-CEO heading the largest company in terms of revenue. His father, Jorge Mas, is chairman of the $945 million specialty contractor for communications companies, utilities and governments throughout the U.S. and Canada. Over the past 52 weeks, MasTec has earned shareholders a 32% total return. Prior to holding his current title in 2006, Mas earned $421,421 a year.