Ed Breen

By Jyoti Thottam

In his 2 1/2-year push to reform Tyco, Ed Breen has pulled off feats that would have made lesser CEOs quake in their wing tips. He persuaded the entire board of directors of the disgraced company to resign, fired almost all its top corporate managers and faced down an $11 billion debt when he had no cash to spare. But there is one thing he is unwilling to do: celebrate. Tyco has finished its first solidly profitable year since its notorious former CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, turned the little-known industrial conglomerate into shorthand for greed. But Breen is not planning any parties (toga or otherwise). "If we lost our focus, that would be terrible," he says.

Instead, Breen is watching his work take root and flower. He has consolidated purchasing, beefed up auditing and started regular meetings on strategy, operations and training--basic discipline that the old Tyco lacked. "We're still in the early innings," Breen says. The company may yet face shareholder lawsuits, but this year Tyco has clearly come back. Its stock has risen 25% since January, and in this fiscal year Tyco has generated $4.8 billion in cash and $2.9 billion in profits while slashing its debt by $4.4 billion. Another sign of confidence: in June, Breen launched Tyco's first ad campaign since the scandal. With so much cash on hand, Breen is in the enviable position of figuring out how to spend it. Next year he plans to raise Tyco's dividend and make at least one acquisition in health care or electronics. Wary of anything that looks like hubris, Breen shrugs off his role as poster boy for corporate housecleaning but admits, "It feels good to be at a great company." --By Jyoti Thottam