http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_41/b4150031727402.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+company+page_top+stories
The idea of a company having two CEO's seems unrealistic and difficult to successfully pull off, but for retailer Aeropostale, this is what they are convinced is going to work. Aeropostale's former CEO, Julian Geiger, stepped down at the end of 2010, and was replaced by president, Mindy Meads and COO, Thomas Johnson. This is an extremely risky decision for the company to make, considering the result that came from others with co-CEO's, such as Goldman Sachs and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Meads and Johnson are said to work well together, but a situation that puts them both in the same position of leadership and power will test their leadership abilities.
As long as their egos don't get the best of them, and Meads and Johnson can maintain consistent behaviors in their leadership styles, the co-CEO situation could be a success for the company. They must lead together, as a team, instead of for only for themselves, individually. Their leadership and the decisions that they make should be seamless, and they must have confidence in themselves and in one another to be successful and to ensure that their team/followers are actually willing to follow them.
(Posted by: Tara Kaeb)
I just read an article in Fortune about this the other day and considered it for my blog. Great minds think alike!!
ReplyDelete-Danny
In a way, this topic seems like it makes so much sense but no sense at all at the same time. At times, it seems logical that putting two people in charge of a company will end in better results. As the expression goes, "two heads are better than one." As we have experienced in many group projects in class, it can be helpful when more than one person has an idea and those ideas can collaborate to make a better one. Each of the newly appointed co-CEOs will bring something different to the table.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as Tara mentions, their egos and conflicting opinions may hinder their success. In a large corporation, it seems as though people with different leadership abilities may clash. They have each worked their way up to the top in different ways, using the leadership attributes that best fit them.
(Kelly)
I also find it interesting that other well-known companies such as California Pizza Kitchen, Chipotle, PF Chang's and Motorola are already using this strategy and finding success with it too.
ReplyDelete-Kelly