In troubled economy, CEOs could get the blame
Jeremy Hobson: Some big corporate shakeup news this morning. Yahoo has ousted its CEO Carol Bartz, and Bank of America has sent two of its senior executives packing.
As Marketplace’s Amy Scott reports, we may soon be seeing a lot more change at the top.
Amy Scott: Carol Bartz was brought in not quite three years ago partly to raise Yahoo’s share price. Since then, the stock has been basically flat. The Bank of America shakeup comes as it’s lost half its market value this year.
Jeffrey Garten is a professor at the Yale School of Management. With the economy so uncertain, he expects to see management changes at a lot of companies.
Jeffrey Garten: I think we’re going to see much shorter tenures at the top. And a lot of this is really not the fault of the leaders, but the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves.
CEO departures have actually slowed down a bit since setting a record in doldrums of 2008, according to a report out today from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. One hundred and four CEOs exited last month. Challenger says even if the recovery gains steam, turnover could pick up, as companies look for new leaders to guide their growth.
I’m Amy Scott for Marketplace.
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