CEOs face many strategic decisions. It’s often the trickiest ones that provide the greatest learning experiences.
In this new video series, BCG’s Christoph Schweizer talks to fellow CEOs about how they navigated some of the most challenging moments of their career.
When technology is an unstoppable force, standing still isn’t an option. In this episode, the CEO and Chair of New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange talks about the risks of complacency. To keep up with advancing tech, Adena Friedman decided to shift the exchange’s market infrastructure technology to the cloud. Doing so meant changing the mindset of many team leaders and equipping them to confidently explain the technology to clients.
Appointing a leadership team is often one of the first challenges facing a CEO. And it’s important strategically, culturally, and operationally. In this episode of CEO Moments of Truth, Exelon’s Calvin Butler shares his thoughts about choosing the right people to help lead the firm through a period of intense change. This includes finding the people who will step up during tough times.
In 2022, EQT’s CEO Christian Sinding decided to push ahead with a significant acquisition in Asia that led to the private equity firm becoming a global leader. It was a career-defining moment for him, a moment which carried considerable risk as well as reward.
Carol B. Tomé was starting her tenure as CEO of UPS when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. At a time when almost every part of the business was disrupted, Tomé chose to focus first and foremost on culture. This approach included defining a purpose for the firm, to serve as a rallying cry for workers during that difficult time, as well as agreeing on behaviors and values among the leadership team.
S&P Global provides data to power global markets. As Douglas Peterson prepares to stand down from his role as CEO, he spoke to BCG’s Christoph Schweizer about some of the defining moments of his career. One of those moments was the bold decision to acquire IHS Markit. And part of the success story was ensuring the right leadership abilities and capacity to manage the change that followed.
One of the hardest tasks for CEOs is future-proofing their business. Jean-Pascal Tricoire was CEO of Schneider Electric for 17 years. Shortly after his tenure began, he chose to kick-start the company’s transformation through the acquisition of one of the most disruptive firms in the sector. It turned into an uphill battle, with some investors and employees seeing the strategy as far-fetched and struggling to buy into the vision.
I sat down with successful CEOs across the world, in very different industries. What the conversations revealed is that even fantastic leaders face extremely stressful, worrying situations. I learned so much from each of them as they talked openly about their experiences and how they felt in these pivotal moments. I think the world tends to forget that there are wonderful human beings behind the CEOs in the headlines.