Boeing, Nike and Starbucks have all changed their chief executives in recent months. But just how important is the person in the top job for the successful running of such huge companies? Alan Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, says leading a big firm is like running a Premier League football team.
Boeing’s CEO Dennis Muilenburg resigned in December following a series of crashes of the company’s 737 Max aircraft.
Nike has appointed John Donahoe as its new CEO, replacing Mark Parker who has been in the role for eight years.
Starbucks has brought in Brian Niccol, the former CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, to replace Kevin Johnson, who is retiring after 13 years with the company.
According to executive coach Alisa Cohn, CEOs are responsible for setting the strategy for the company, setting the culture for the company, and are accountable for its success.
Confidence is also a vital quality for a CEO, as is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
The failure to make the right choices and lead teams in the right direction can have severe consequences, as Alan Lafley discovered when he became the boss of P&G in 2000. His predecessor Durk Jager had led a global restructuring that resulted in a massive decline in profits.
Alan Lafley says that as CEO, it’s not about doing everything yourself, but about enabling and empowering everybody in the organisation to do what needs to be done.
According to Sarah Anderson from the Institute for Policy Studies, CEO pay is getting out of control, with the average CEO in the US earning 196 times as much as the average worker at their company.
This is a problem that is getting worse, and spreading around the world.
Alan Lafley agrees that the ratio between staff and CEOs’ pay is “too high”, but thinks that firms are having to compete to attract the best talent.
Source link
