2002: Where are they now?

(CNN/TIME) -- Several members of the "next generation" of corporate leaders, as selected by CNN and TIME in 2002, have moved up in the business world, while a few have moved on.

RICH BARTON

Few ever confused Rich Barton, the founder of travel Web site Expedia, with the standard, button-down business executive. His laid-back style and stunning success shook the travel and online industries -- as did his sudden exit, at age 36, in early 2003 from the pioneering company he founded.

Barton's departure from the CEO stage came as InterActive -- the e-commerce conglomerate headed by media mogul Barry Diller that includes Ticketmaster, Citysearch, Match.com and Hotels.com -- worked to acquire the remainder of Expedia.

In a February announcement, Barton stepped down as Expedia president and CEO, citing his children and saying he wanted "to pursue my long-standing dream to live in Europe for a year." Diller, chairman of Expedia, said, "everyone associated with Expedia" tried to talk Barton out of the move, but "it's simply impossible when fundamental life decisions are involved."

Expedia, meanwhile, continued to excel under Barton's replacement and longtime colleague, Erik Blachford. The company reported a 53 percent rise in gross bookings (to $2 billion) and 71 percent jump in net revenue (to $247.5 million) in the second quarter of 2003, compared to the same quarter the previous year.

HEBERT DEMEL

In the automotive industry, where fast movers are the rule, Herbert Demel has distinguished himself by quickly motoring through his career.

A star in the early 1990s at Audi, serving as the German carmaker's head of development and later chairman of the management board, Demel took over Volkswagen's Brazilian division in 1997. He was credited with helping make VW one of the South American nation's top auto exporters.

Five years into that job, Demel moved on again -- this time becoming CEO and president of Magna Steyr, a global leader in auto parts manufacturing and automotive assessments.

In fall 2003, Fiat announced Demel would be its next CEO, effective November 15, 2003, making him the first non-Italian ever to run the company.

DAVID JI and ANCLE HSU

Three years ago, Apex Digital was little more than the dream of its co-founders, David Ji and Ancle Hsu. Today, the company's profile and profits continue to soar, having quickly established Apex as one of the world's leader in consumer electronics.

In 1999, Ji and Hsu founded Apex, combining cutting-edge research from Silicon Valley with inexpensive manufacturing in China. The result was high-tech, low-cost digital electronics available at mass retail locations like Circuit City and Wal-Mart.

Everything has gone up for Ji, Apex's CEO, and Hsu, its COO, since they were named Global Influential business leaders last fall. The company expects to exceed $1 billion in sales in 2003, fueled by sales of DVD players and televisions in more than 20,000 stores worldwide.

ROB LAWES

Faster than Thomas the Tank Engine can cruise along the rails, business has boomed at HIT Entertainment. But, HIT chief executive Rob Lawes insists his company won't stand still in the coming years.

The British-based children's entertainment company, which claims Bob the Builder and Barney (plus Thomas) among its flagship brands, reported a 40 percent jump in revenues (to $282.5 million) and 45 percent rise in before-tax profits in 12 months leading up to July 31, 2003. But Lawes warned against complacency. In a recent statement, he said Bob the Builder had "reached maturity in the U.S. and U.K." and pledged a "major re-energising of the brand in 2005" through innovative TV episodes, toy partnerships and new products.

Lawes, who has been with the company since he was 22, has also led efforts to make HIT more efficient and implemented a new business model with distinct divisions for each brand and sales area.

SALLIE KRAWCHECK

Embattled financial-services giant Citigroup hired Sallie Krawcheck as CEO of subsidiary Smith Barney in October 2002, what many analysts say, in an effort to return credibility and accountability to the company's stock-research and retail-brokerage operations.

Krawcheck's job switch came after Fortune featured her -- then CEO of respected research boutique Sanford Bernstein -- in an article titled "In Search of the Last Honest Analyst."

In April 2003, Citigroup, and nine other securities firms agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle several regulatory investigations into accusations the firms deceived investors with tainted stock market research designed to win investment banking fees.

Krawcheck has kept a high profile, with Citigroup often citing her as a leader in the anti-corruption drive as she meets investors, brokers and researchers worldwide. Her growing importance -- in part evidenced by a $30 million paycheck, according to Fortune -- led U.S. Banker magazine to rank Krawcheck atop its list of 25 most powerful women in banking.