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109 analyses · People & Control
Sony handed Kaz Hirai the TV business in 2012 — and it kept bleeding for four more years
Sony
Amazon picked its CEO from the one unit earning $13.5B while retail earned $9.4B
Amazon
Microsoft's CEO search shortlisted six names — then hired the insider it had all along
Microsoft
Costco spent two years handing Jelinek the CEO job — then he promised not to touch the $1.50 hot dog
Costco
Uber Called Its 2017 CEO Vote 'Unanimous.' Two Front-Runners Had Just Destroyed Each Other.
Uber
Larry Page and Sergey Brin gave Pichai the CEO title in 2019 — and kept half the votes
Alphabet (Google)
Nike Made a Sitting Board Member CEO in 2020, Then Un-Retired a 32-Year Insider to Replace Him
Nike
Ford handed a Boeing man the keys in 2006 — then let him pawn the Blue Oval
Ford
P&G Recalled A.G. Lafley in 2013 — Its Own Successor Lasted Under Four Years
Procter & Gamble
Schultz Returned as Starbucks CEO in 2008 — Chairing the Board That Had Installed His Successor
Starbucks
Apple split Jony Ive's job in two and handed both halves to its operations chief
Apple
JPMorgan Ran the Bank Without Dimon in March 2020 Because the Bench Was Already Built
JPMorgan Chase
Texas Roadhouse named a new CEO one day after its founder's death — and nobody blinked
Texas Roadhouse
Total's CEO died in a Moscow runway crash — and 36 hours later it had a new one
TotalEnergies
Ferrari Replaced Its CEO in the Same Meeting It Learned He Couldn't Return
Ferrari
Micron's CEO died on a Friday. By Saturday a man planning to retire had the job.
Micron Technology
Coca-Cola Crowned Goizueta's Chosen Heir in 5 Days — and Pushed Him Out 2.5 Years Later
Coca-Cola
McDonald's Named Charlie Bell CEO Within Hours of Its Chairman's Death — and Named His Successor Seven Months Later
McDonald's
Twitter's board gave Dorsey a growth target and 20 months later sold to Musk instead
Twitter
Carl Icahn ran a McDonald's proxy fight on 200 shares — and lost 490 million to 9 million
McDonald's
Canadian Pacific's board quit hours before the 2012 vote it never let happen
Canadian Pacific Railway
P&G Beat Nelson Peltz at the Ballot Box, Then Added Two Seats to Give Him One
Procter & Gamble
Microsoft raised its Yahoo bid to $33 a share in 2008 — and it was Microsoft that walked
Yahoo
Shareholders Threw Out All 12 of Darden's Directors — After the Red Lobster Sale Was Already Done
Darden Restaurants
DuPont beat Trian's proxy fight in May 2015 — and replaced its CEO five months later
DuPont
Disney crushed Peltz 94% to 31% — then ran his governance playbook within six months
Disney
Yahoo Burned Through CEOs Because the Job Was Unwinnable, Even for Marissa Mayer
Yahoo
Tesla Built a Legal Machine to Keep One Man in Control. In 2025, It Started Costing Them.
Tesla
Mary Barra Fixed GM's Balance Sheet. She Hasn't Solved the Harder Problem: Who's Next.
General Motors
HP Kept Hiring CEOs to Fix It. The Thing They Were Fixing Was Its Soul.
HP
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