$299Precedent Set · one-time · Excel, JSON, PowerPoint, Word, PDF

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5 of 11 records, free, exactly as they appear in the set. 4 more verified records are in the purchased files.

CompanyFork dateThe forkOptionsChoiceStated rationaleWhat happenedJudgment analystSources
Apple
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verified
2011-08-24Whether an operator-successor could create value at Apple after a visionary founder
  • Name Cook CEO Hand the company to the operator recommended by Jobs
  • Seek a new visionary Hire a founder-type successor to keep inventing categories
Name Cook CEOJobs recommended in writing that the board execute the succession plan and name Cook CEO5 years · 2026-04
China smartphone share: slipped out of the top tier, trailing Huawei, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi
reversibility low
verdict held
Apple Newsroom (2011-08); TheStreet / Bloomberg (2026-04); The Desk / CNBC (2026-04); U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Apple Inc. (2024-11); TheStreet (2026-04); UnHerd (2026-04)
Berkshire Hathaway
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verified
2025-05How should Buffett engineer Berkshire to outlive him?
  • Engineer structured succession Decentralize, name and season a successor, telegraph the handover in advance.
  • Deny the mortality problem Leave successor identity to chance or a post-mortem scramble.
Engineer structured successionConvert the founder's genius into durable structure so the company needs him less.1 year · 2026-01-01
CEO transition: Abel became CEO on January 1, 2026; Buffett remained Chairman
reversibility low
verdict too-early
U.S. SEC (EDGAR) (2025-05); CNBC / NPR / CBS News (2025-20)
Boeing
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verified
2024-07-31What kind of CEO should Boeing pick to succeed Calhoun?
  • Hire another financial operator Pick a GE-style leader fluent in capital allocation and margins.
  • Hire an outsider engineer Bring in a hands-on engineering and manufacturing operator.
Hire an outsider engineerThe board signaled it knew it had been missing engineering and aerospace operating experience.Latest · 2024-08-08
CEO transition timing: Ortberg took over August 8, 2024, roughly four months ahead of the projected year-end date
reversibility medium
verdict held
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Boeing Co. (2024-07); Boeing Company / Boeing Investor Relations (2024-07); Fortune (2024-04)
Disney
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verified
2023-01How should Disney's board handle CEO succession: let the incumbent pick, or own the process itself?
  • Let incumbent pick successor Hand the succession pen to the outgoing CEO, as with Chapek.
  • Board owns succession process A standing committee vets candidates and sets the date.
Board owns succession processA sitting CEO has a structural conflict in choosing a successor, so the board took ownership of the decision.3 years · 2026-03-18
successor named: Josh D'Amaro named CEO effective March 18, 2026 after a multi-year committee process
reversibility medium
verdict too-early
The Walt Disney Company (SEC Form 8-K, FY2026) (2026-02); CNBC / NBC News (2023-09)
General Motors
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2025-06Whether to name a successor and how to prepare GM's handoff from Barra
  • Publicly name a successor Commit to a formal handoff plan while Barra can still answer open questions
  • Elevate frontrunner without naming Build up Anderson's authority while calling succession premature and speculative
  • Defer succession to board Keep the decision open and deflect the question to the board
Elevate frontrunner without namingGM calls a future role for Anderson premature and speculative, and Barra says the board decidesLatest · 2025
Anderson's authority at GM: Within about six months he became the most influential product executive at GM in more than fifteen years outside of Reuss
reversibility medium
verdict partial
General Motors Company — investor.gm.com (2025-05); Axios (2026-01); CNBC (2025-12)

What is in the set

ExcelSortable records, outcomes and sources
JSONDrop it into your AI workspace
PowerPointOne record per slide, action titles, source lines
WordEditable, with the source appendix
PDFThe reading copy
  • Fork date at the precision the record supports, never sharper.
  • The fork, the options, the choice in the form the company faced them.
  • Stated rationale as the company gave it or the record documents it, not our theory.
  • Capital committed where the record states it; blank where it does not.
  • Outcomes at one, three and five years or latest, each dated and cited.
  • Reversibility and verdict as analyst judgments, marked as such.
  • Every source, with dates and links, per record and in an appendix.

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