In the News–Leadership & Strategy
Performance Failures and Misconduct Drive Latest CEO Firings
Lindsay Frost, Agenda, April 21, 2025
A record number of CEOs were likely pushed out of their roles in the past year, according to a new analysis from CEO-exit research firm Exechange. This is largely due to performance issues, policy violations and misconduct, sources said.
These decisions don’t come lightly for boards and often simmer behind the scenes before the decision is made. It’s important for boards to try to avoid these situations by setting clear expectations for the chief exec. Still, if they must show their CEO the door, they should be careful about communication and be prepared for legal and other consequences, sources said. They should also have an emergency succession plan to fall back on.
“There’s nothing worse than feeling that you need to let go of your CEO,” said Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc. “But none of it should be a surprise because expectations from the board should be made clear. We’re not all born knowing how to be a CEO.” […read more]
CEO Bravado Risks ‘Trivializing’ Geopolitical Crisis
Frederic Lee, Agenda, August 9, 2024
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has found a new potential opponent in the ring in Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who challenged Musk to a matchup after the billionaire questioned Maduro’s proclaimed victory in his country’s recent presidential election.
The back-and-forth amounts to theatrical gamesmanship and telegraphed testosterone — similar to last year’s much-hyped showdown between Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — Davia Temin, president and CEO of management consultancy Temin and Company Inc., told Agenda. Yet Musk has now gone “way beyond that” in his new situation involving the Venezuelan election.
Business leaders need to take great care in terms of the weight of their words, said Temin. In the intense current geopolitical environment, it’s a time for deliberation, moderation and “trying to cool things down — not heat them up.” Boards need to think through their positions before going public with them, she said. […read more]
Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz Made PR Blunder With Late Apology
Matthew Boyle, Bloomberg, July 19, 2024
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer George Kurtz co-wrote a book that’s commonly referred to as the bible of computer security. When it comes to crisis management, though, he’s on shakier ground.
In a post on social media platform X early Friday morning about a botched software update that crashed countless computer systems globally, Kurtz made clear the incident was not a cyberattack, his firm had identified the problem, and deployed a “fix.” What he didn’t say — at least at first — was the magic phrase that public-relations experts advise all businesses to shout from the rooftops at times like this: “I’m sorry.”
“A CEO needs a nuanced and emotionally truthful response,” said Davia Temin, founder and CEO of crisis-communications firm Temin & Co. “This is a response scrubbed by a legal team with lawsuits in mind. It holds little to no accountability, which is what makes apologies so powerful. And it positions Kurtz almost as an AI voice — automated, soulless. In fact, ChatGPT does a better job of appearing to care than he does.” […read more]
Kyte Baby CEO issues two apologies in remote working row
Richard Quest, CNN’s Quest Means Business, January 24, 2024
Davia Temin joins CNN’s Richard Quest to discuss Kyte Baby CEO’s apologies for denying the remote work request from a mother whose baby is in the NICU.
“Take a loss, but do the right thing because perception matters…It’s doing the right thing, and sometimes that’s not the right thing for your pocket.”
Bloomberg Markets: The Close 11/07/2023
Romaine Bostick, Katie Griefeld and Scarlet Fu, Bloomberg Markets “The Close,” November 7, 2023
Romaine Bostick, Katie Griefeld and Scarlet Fu bring you the latest news and analysis leading up to the final minutes and seconds before and after the closing bell on Wall Street.
Davia Temin joins hosts Scarlet Fu and Katie Griefeld to discuss Boomerang CEOs and whether companies that bring back chief executives in the hope of fixing some problems – such as Starbucks, Dollar General, DuPont, and Disney – use a winning strategy.
JPMorgan settles with Jeffrey Epstein victims for $290 million
Nupur Anand, Lananh Nguyen, Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel, Reuters, June 12, 2023
JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay about $290 million to settle a class action lawsuit by Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, resolving a large part of litigation over the bank’s relationship with the disgraced financier.
Monday’s settlement follows months of embarrassing disclosures that JPMorgan ignored internal warnings and overlooked red flags about Epstein because he had been a valuable client.
Davia Temin, chief executive of crisis management firm Temin and Co, said settling rather than fighting to the end sends “the right message across Wall Street.” […read more]
Exclusive: JPMorgan employees gripe about Dimon’s return-to-office edict
Nupur Anand and Lananh Nguyen, Reuters, April 27, 2023
JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon sent a clear message to employees this month: get back to the office. It touched a nerve among his staff.
The largest U.S. lender’s employees inundated an internal messaging forum with criticism after its operating committee posted an edict entitled, “The importance of being together.” Some staffers pushed back, calling the message “tone deaf” and “divisive.”
In the nearly 700-word note on April 12 that sent ripples across the financial industry, the bank asked managing directors to return to the office five days a week and warned other employees working on hybrid schedules that they needed to show up three days a week or face consequences.
Davia Temin said employers may roll back pandemic flexibility and demand more in-office working as a recession looms and workers vie to keep their jobs.
“Working from home was introduced during extraordinary times and leaders have the right to change that, especially now as we are likely to be getting into a recession where profitability will be key,” Temin said. “It is not a God-given right, so it can be changed.” […read more]
Don’t Cry. Don’t Curse. Just Deliver the Bad News, Experts Say
Neanda Salvaterra, Agenda, April 21, 2023
The message for CEOs when delivering tough news, particularly that hits employees in the pocketbook, is to communicate that they are willing to share the burden and take a pay cut, said experts. Something to avoid? Telling employees not to think about what to do if they don’t get paid.
MillerKnoll CEO Andi Owen faced pushback from the public this week for not displaying sufficient empathy and for telling workers to “leave pity city” during a Zoom call in March. Owen made her comments in response to employees raising concerns about staying motivated and potentially not being paid their bonuses due to the company’s experiencing financial hardships.
If a message has been damaging, then experts advise leaders to show contrition and encourage the public to recognize that executives are only humans who can make mistakes and deserve to be extended a bit of grace, according to Davia Temin, president and CEO of risk consulting firm Temin & Co.
“An apology is important. So is trying to change the conversation to ‘all of us are in this together,’” said Temin. She noted that viral moments can be especially tricky to navigate for women.
“The expectations of women leaders are different from expectations of male leaders; psychologists have said employees still expect a woman CEO to be a good mother,” said Temin. “In this instance and in any good organization, empathy and compassion goes both ways. I worry we are responding with anger as opposed to with understanding [and by] saying, ‘She must be under pressure. She’s got to make numbers for office furniture. People aren’t going back to the office as much, and she is trying to take care of her people.’” […read more]
Southwest’s Silver Lining: Memories of Gaffes Fade Fast
Ryan Beene, Bloomberg, December 29, 2022
Southwest Airlines Co.’s 2022 nightmare before Christmas is unlikely to inflict long-lasting damage to the carrier’s reputation if management compensates customers and makes good on vows of operational changes, communications and management professionals say.
In recent days, social media has been flooded by angry Southwest customers after storms and shaky computer systems forced the airline, the largest domestic carrier in the US, to cancel more than 13,000 flights. Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan has issued multiple apologies while employees work overtime to clean up the mess, which officials in Washington vow to scrutinize.
“It isn’t enough for even a well-meaning CEO to give his word,” Temin said. “It has to start a real series of events and change.” […read more]
‘A Failure of Governance’ — Boeing Reaches $200 Million Settlement
Lindsay Frost and Nick Muscavage, Agenda, September 30, 2022
Last week, the SEC settled charges against Boeing and its former CEO Dennis Muilenburg for $200 million and $1 million, respectively, for violating federal antifraud provisions related to making deceptive statements after two airplane crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019….
In announcing its settlement with Boeing and Muilenburg, the SEC drove home its claim that the aircraft manufacturer and its former CEO “failed to exercise reasonable care, resulting in public statements that were materially misleading to investors.”
The board is not often involved in company communications and doesn’t typically get a sign-off on press releases, but during a crisis, they should, said Davia Temin. […read more]
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