If last year was euphoric for the business world, this year was humbling—but not for everyone. We felt it was a fitting time to call out some leaders and companies who deserve praise as well as those who deserve shame.

Best big tech CEO: Safra Catz. In a year in which most major technology stocks dropped at least 20%, if not 70%, Oracle shares stood out by sinking 6.7%. (Scroll down to see a list of best- and worst-performing tech stocks this year.) That’s the smallest loss of any “mega cap” tech company worth more than $200 billion. Oracle shares performed better than others not only because of Catz’s stealthy, mid-year layoffs, first reported here, but because unlike almost all Oracle’s brethren, the database giant projected no slowdown in revenue growth for the current fiscal quarter compared to the quarter that ended in November. Catz, as CEO, gets credit for that relative outperformance.