Along the way, he also developed a reputation for directness that could be a little rough. Mr. Riccitiello said that Mr. Ward "can run certain people over" with his big voice and strong point of view.

"My sense is if you took the average executive with a 50- to 80-hour workweek, they spend about 50 percent of their time just being nice," said Mr. Riccitiello. "Jim doesn't deal with that. He picks up half a week right there."