In large global corporations, there seems to be two sets of rules—one for the top executives and CEOs, the other for the rank-and-file workers. Throughout 2020 and early to mid 2021, I wrote about a dozen pieces that highlighted a similar theme—thousands of employees were furloughed or fired, while the CEOs and their coterie of executives made out well with lush salaries and big bonuses. Even when companies went bankrupt, they still raked in the cash, while their workers were thrown out into the worst job market in modern history.
Maybe things might be changing. The Wall Street Journal reported that Credit Suisse chairman António Horta-Osório resigned when it was found out that he “breached Covid-19-related government rules,” by his personal use of a corporate aircraft and “he attended the Wimbledon tennis finals in the U.K. in July, when the country’s Covid-19 rules required him to be in quarantine. Swiss press separately reported the chairman used corporate aircraft in the fall to travel for a vacation in the Maldives.” Axel Lehmann, a Credit Suisse board member, was appointed to take over the chairman role.
Horta-Osório said in a Credit Suisse press release, “I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally.” He continued, “I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and its stakeholders at this crucial time.”
There were prior indiscretions at Credit Suisse. We usually don’t associate corporate espionage, car chases, physical altercations and a suicide with the staid conservative world of Swiss banking. Credit Suisse, the Swiss-based banking giant, broke this stereotype when its chief executive officer, Tidjane Thiam, was pushed out of the company after two alleged incidents of spying on former top-level executives. Thiam resigned after he lost the confidence of the bank’s board of directors, in the wake of a scandal in which private investigators, hired by the bank, spied on two former senior-level executives.
In addition to the spying imbroglio, the bank sustained huge financial and credibility losses in its relationship with Archegos Capital, due to the hedge fund’s questionable trading practices. CNN reported, “The investment bankers had allowed the U.S. hedge fund to take ‘voracious’ and ‘potentially catastrophic’ risks that culminated in its spectacular downfall, costing the bank $5.5 billion.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that the jobs of CEOs may no longer be above reproach. A new survey conducted by AlixPartners reveals that “72% of chief executive officers are worried about losing their jobs in 2022 because of business disruptions.” Additionally, 94% of bosses have self-reported that “their corporate models need to be overhauled within three years.”
Simon Freakley, the CEO of AlixPartners, said about the sudden precarity of a CEO’s safe tenure, “Disruptive forces like the supply chain and labor market are all playing out simultaneously.” He added that they continue to feel pressure during the pandemic, as shareholders are calling for continued growth leading to higher stock prices.
Over the last year, around 126 technology CEOs left their jobs. This includes Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Jack Dorsey at Twitter, both of whom were cofounders of their respective companies. For these two men, it could be that after so many years of building and running high-profile companies and earning unfathomable riches, they decided to pursue other passions and cast off some of the pressures associated with always being in the limelight. For Bezos, it’s space travel and Dorsey is seeking out opportunities in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Source: Forbes
