41.   He is the latest in a list of outsiders, starting with Gerstner, who have joined the top ranks of IBM in the last three years.

42.   His dislike of travel encouraged him to accept that job close to home, even though his classes include pupils not of the top rank.

43.   Hueppi shook up management and brought more international experience to the top ranks at the Zurich-based insurer.

44.   How will the bank elbow its way into the top ranks?

45.   In a step that could drastically alter the political status quo in Russia, Yeltsin has filled the top ranks of his government with newcomers from the far-flung provinces.

46.   In selecting three Southerners for their top ranks, House Republicans paid homage to the growing clout of a new wave of Southern GOP conservatives.

47.   It will also elevate Thierry Desmarest, the combative chairman of Totalfina, to the top ranks of the world oil industry.

48.   Its acquisition of Commcorp catapults Newcourt into the top ranks of asset-finance companies, along with firms like GE Capital Corp., IBM Credit and The Associates.

49.   It was this consumer-market retailing strategy that helped Packard Bell rise from obscurity to the top ranks of the computer industry.

50.   Lavish promotional campaigns soon propelled them into the top ranks of prescription medicines, where they currently yield enormous profits for their manufacturers.