Best bosses: Three CEOs who powered through the financial crisis

In case you thought every day was Bosses Day, you've got another thing coming. Friday is "officially" National Boss Day and to celebrate it, here are three CEOs who actually earned their pay and position by skillfully guiding their companies through the financial crisis.

To measure the effectiveness of that guidance, I looked for profitable companies with stock prices that are above their levels from about two years ago on Oct. 12, 2007, when the Dow peaked at 14,093 -- 40 percent higher than it is today. Without further ado, the winners are: Apple Inc. (APPL) CEO Steve Jobs; Strayer Education (STRA) CEO Robert Silberman; and International Business Machines (IBM) boss Sam Palmisano.