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Summary of article:
The Wall Street Journal reported that after a company loses an indispensable CEO, succession arrangements and board support will determine whether it can stabilize the situation. Apple, Uber and Nissan have all provided different lessons.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 12th that Nvidia (NVIDIA) suddenly lost its CEO, who was closely linked to the company’s fate.Huida which is also translated as Nvidia) is not the first case, Apple (Apple ), Uber and Nissan are all examples of this.
After Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died of cancer, his successor Tim Cook became CEO and relied on his ability as an “operations guru” to ward off external skeptics. In his early days in office, Cook took some steps that were welcomed by the market, such as issuing a dividend and buying back shares in 2012.
Yale School of Management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld said Cook benefited greatly from being able to seek advice from corporate elders on Apple’s board of directors, including Disney CEO Bob Iger and Gap CEO Mickey Drexler. But Huida’s situation is different. Most of the current board of directors do not lack long-term experience in running public companies.
Uber’s tough-minded founder Travis Kalanick stepped down after being forced out by investors, and when Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was promoted to become Uber’s CEO in 2017, Uber was in turmoil as a start-up, with sexism and sexual harassment scandals damaging the company’s reputation.
Kokhoslovshahis are known for their stable character and practical experience in making profits. In addition to tasking him with improving the corporate culture, the board of directors also set a deadline for Uber to go public in 2019. For Khosrowshahi, this means only a few months are left to prevent the loss of billions.
Khosrowshahi established his own leadership team shortly after taking office, and following the disappointing results of the initial public offering (IPO), he made more drastic changes in management.
Alex Kirsch, human resources business analyst at market research firm Gartner, said: “CEO change is never a matter of the CEO alone, but also of the team around him.”
After Renault formed an alliance with Nissan in 1999, the group was run by Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn until he was ousted for financial misconduct in 2018 and fled Japan to avoid prosecution.
Ghosn’s departure at the same time created a power vacuum in both companies, leading to employee revolts and constant infighting. Renault has had three CEOs so far in 2019. Nissan has gone through several leadership changes and strategic changes, including a failed merger proposal with Honda, and is still trying to make a comeback.
Sonnenfeld said that both companies found a common goal on some level, which was to draw a clear line between themselves and Cohen.
Summary FAQ
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Because these companies have all had experienced key leaders leave or have been forced to hand over the reins, the results have varied greatly. The article uses Apple, Uber, and Nissan as examples to illustrate that succession ability, board structure, and team support will directly affect whether the company can survive the shock.
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Cook is known for being good at operational management. After taking office, he first used policies to stabilize investors that were highly accepted by the market, including issuing dividends and repurchasing shares in 2012. At the same time, he was able to seek advice from corporate elders on the board of directors to mitigate uncertainty in the early stages of succession.
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The most significant risk is not just that the CEO is being replaced, but that the entire leadership team and corporate culture may become unbalanced. While Uber regrouped amid scandals and losses, Nissan fell into a power vacuum, infighting and strategic back-and-forth after Ghosn’s departure, showing that failed succession is costly.
