20 Highest Returning CEOs in 2021: Top Performing Stock Predictions for 2022

December 21, 2021

Interviews with the 20 best performing CEOs of 2021 have been gathered together in one report: the 20 Best CEO Interviews of 2021.

Several energy companies made the list. Robert D. Bondurant serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ: MMLP), a US petroleum products transport and storage company operating primarily in the Gulf Coast region. The stock is up over 90% on the year and looks to continue it’s turnaround in 2022. You can read the entire 2,889 word interview for a more complete picture.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) is up well over 40% for the year for investors. CEO and President Tracy Krohn and CFO Janet Yang explain how they got it done for this oil producer, also located in the Gulf of Mexico, in this 3,514 word interview. Bottom line: “Oil and gas companies are declining commodity businesses. So the three mantras are: you need to replace reserves; you need to increase production; and you need to increase cash flow. So those are the things that we focus on.”

Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF) is up a whopping 375% in 2021. This Canadian oil producer is operating primarily in the Cardium region and CEO and New York University grad Stephen Loukas explains his strategy in this 2,959 word interview.

Robert Herlin of Evolution Petroleum (NYSEAMERICAN:EPM) insured that this company returned over 80% on stock appreciation in 2021 and also paid out a substantial dividend. Mr. Herlin explains in this 3,858 word interview that EPM “is distinguished from its peers in the upstream energy business in that we focus on long-life reserves, conservative financial management and a belief that shareholders should be given a very substantial portion of the cash thrown off by its assets.”

Operating in Africa in not an easy management issue, yet the CEO of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Cary Bounds has managed nearly a 70% return for his investors in 2021. He explains how in this 3,189 word interview.

Standex International (NYSE:SXI) is a diversified manufacturing company based in the United States, the type of conglomerate that is not supposed to return almost 40% in a year to investors but this one does and pays a dividend as well. Chairman, President and CEO David Dunbar explains how in this 3,118 word interview.

A diversified insurance company is a different animal from manufacturing and it requires a far different management strategy. Rick Kahlbaugh of Tiptree (NASDAQ:TIPT) explains his in this 2,500 word interview for this dividend paying company that returned more than 168% in 2021: “It’s our ability to complement underwriting revenue with fee revenue that changes the dynamic of the investment for shareholders — little safer, little outsized-return environment.”

The CEO of Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) William Meaney explains how another form of corporate insurance can also create a profitable business and high returns for investors in this 4,886 word interview. A 78% stock appreciation in 2021 and a nearly 5% dividend deserve some further study.

Digital transformation of existing companies drives returns and the company that devotes itself to consulting on these digital transformations, Perficient, returned nearly 170% on its stock in 2021. The CEO of Perficient (NASDAQ:PRFT), Jeff Davis, explains how he gets this done in this 3,335 word interview.

Almost the opposite of the advising on successful digital transformations is the study of corporate failures: “The company built a reputation over the next few decades as a leader in failure analysis.” Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) stock returned over 30% in 2021 under the leadership of Dr. Catherine Corrigan and this 3,451 word interview explains how the Harvard and MIT grad gets it done.

Transforming a Connecticut cigar manufacturer into an industrial warehouse real estate trust is a feat of magic. The President and CEO of INDUS Realty Trust (NASDAQ:INDT) Michael Gamzon explains not only how he gets that done but also how it results in a 20+% return for investors in 2021 in this 3,719 word interview.

Another real estate play, this one in the real estate technology and data business, returned over 30% in 2021. Hessam Nadji, the CEO, explains the long development of a sustainable competitive advantage for Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) in commercial real estate data in this 4,374 word interview.

Another niche real estate play returned over 11% in 2021 while paying nearly 5% in dividend income. Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) is a spin out from Windstream and as CEO Kenny Gunderman explains in his 2,763 word interview: “Our strategy is simple: It’s to buy and build mission-critical communications infrastructure with a heavy focus on fiber, and then to lease that fiber on a long-term basis to high-quality tenants.”

Another beneficiary of the transition from copper wires to wireless and fiber is Napco Security Technologies (NASDAQ:NSSC) led by Founder, President and CEO Richard Soloway. “…You have 100 million residential buildings that are now going to have to be converted from copper wiring to cellular service.” This 2,924 word interview from October 2020 explains how he achieved an 85% return on his company’s stock in 2021.

Bridging the world of technology and medicine, CEO Larry Jasinski is creating an assisted exoskeleton to enable disabled people to walk with Rewalk Robotics (NASDAQ:RWLK). Read about it in this 2,582 word interview.

Another medical device manufacturer may have turned the investment corner with 90% returns in 2021. Joseph Sardano leads Sensus Health Care (NASDAQ:SRTS) in developing Superficial Radiation Therapy devices. Read about how they work and who they’re for in this 3,909 word interview.

If the Holy Grail of biotech startups is getting acquired for billions of dollars by a major pharmaceutical company, then Amit Munshi of Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA) which is being taken over by Pfizer is a true knight. Read about how to get this done in this 3,089 word interview.

From a company already in the process of exiting successfully from being public traded to a company based on risky transactions. Monarch Casino and Resorts (NASDAQ:MCRI) weathered the COVID 19 storm in 2021 with a 22% return. Read this 2,492 word interview with David Farahi and find out how this was accomplished.

A nearly 40% 2021 stock market return would distinguish any consumer products company, let alone one operating in the hyper competitive energy drink marketplace. Read this 3,229 word interview with CEO John Fieldly for his successful strategy implementation for Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ:CELH).

Dime Community (NASDAQ:DCOM) has been a New York based savings and loan institution since Abraham Lincoln’s re-election. Read this 3,111 word interview to see how Kevin O’Connor has sucessfully navigated his bank to return over 40% to his shareholders in the first year of the Biden Presidency.