CNBC’s Larry Kudlow Nominates Roger Ailes For ‘CNBC First 25’

By Chris Ariens 

Well this is interesting.

As part of celebrating its 25th anniversary, CNBC annoucned it will be compiling the “CNBC First 25,” what it calls “a definitive list of people who have had the greatest influence, sparked the biggest changes and created the most disruption in business over the past quarter century.”

CNBC’s Larry Kudlow thinks Fox News co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes fits the bill. Last night on his show, Kudlow nominated Ailes, who ran CNBC in the early 1990s, but is now a fierce competitor.

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“Mr. Ailes has broken the dominance of the mainstream media which always tilts left,” said Kudlow. “He is also unapologetic whenever he ruffles anybody’s feathers.” WATCH:

Here’s the criteria to be one of the “CNBC First 25.”

A person must have been more than a good CEO. He/she should have altered business, commerce, management or human behavior—in other words, the person should have been responsible for ushering in meaningful change, with business being the primary sphere of influence. A person does not need to be alive, and his/her early work may have predated 1989, but his/her transformative impact should be greatest during the past 25 years. The pool of candidates should be diverse, reflecting different geographies and sectors.

CNBC has assembled an advisory board to cull the top 25. They inlclude Herminia Ibarra, Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning and Professor of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD; Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Senior Associate Dean at the Yale School of Management and a CNBC contributor and Paul E. Steiger, former Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal and Executive Chairman and Founding Editor of ProPublica. In addition, Paul Maidment, Founding Editor of FT.com and former Executive Editor of Forbes, will serve as contributing editor on the project.

The final list will be revealed in April, the month of CNBC’s 25th anniversary.

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