Not many people are built for the long hours, high stress, target-on-your-back reality that comes with running a large company. You’re constantly subject to the demands of the board of directors, upset customers, and annoyed employees, all while attempting to steer a company to profitability.
Of course, it doesn’t always go swimmingly.
This year, we’ve seen a rash of infighting and outrageous behavior that has led to a number of CEOs to quit or be shown the door. Luxottica Group, the largest eyewear maker in the world, shuffled out their second CEO in less than two months last week, following a struggle over how much control should be given to the founder of the company, according to reports.
American Apparel APP 0.00% finally cut ties with its brash founder DovCharney in June in the wake of one among many claims of misconduct. Online advertising platform RadiumOne fired its CEO following a domestic abuse scandal. Stadium food vendor Centerplate’s CEO stepped down after video showed him kicking a dog in an elevator. Finally, “Bond King” Bill Gross left Pimco, the company he founded, to join competitor Janus in the midst of reports that he was to be fired the next day.
Then again, CEO departures aren’t all tabloid-fodder. Many leaders step down gracefully, without treating the organization like a forgotten bachelor pad. Look at J.C. Penney JCP -0.65% , which recently named Marvin Ellison as CEO-in-waiting until Mike Ullman retires in August 2015. Or even Oracle ORCL 1.46% , whose founder Larry Ellison decided to step aside and officially yield chief executive duties to SafraCatz and Mark Hurd.
In a time when work-life balance seems ever-more enticing while CEO pay knows no bounds, it’s refreshing to find examples of leaders stepping down without poor results, scandal, or even legal issues following in their wake.
Here are five CEOs who knew how to lead, even if it meant realizing that the company would be a better place without them.
掌控一家大公司可不容易，要能长时间加班加点、承受高压、还有业绩目标随时如芒在背，没有几个人生来具备这些素质。在竭尽全力让公司赢利的同时，还要不断面对董事们的种种要求、不满的客户和生气的员工。
显然，老板并不总是那么好当的。
今年以来，我们已看到各公司内斗和层出不穷的出格行为，让好些首席执行官要么辞职走人，要么被扫地出门。有媒体报道称，在一场因公司创始人应获得多大控制权而引发的争斗之后，全球最大的眼镜商罗萨奥蒂卡集团（Luxottica Group）上周将上任还不到两个月的第二任首席执行官请出了公司。
美国服饰公司（American Apparel）创始人多夫•查尼一向目中无人，行为多有不端。6月份，查尼再爆丑闻，该公司终于和他彻底决裂。在传出一起家暴丑闻后，在线广告平台RadiumOne公司也裁掉了它的首席执行官。体育场食品供应商Centerplate公司的首席执行官也下台了，原因是一段曝光的视频显示，他在电梯里猛踢一只小狗。最后，在听说自己即将在翌日被裁的消息后，太平洋投资管理公司（Pimco）创始人、“债券之王”比尔•格罗斯干脆跳到了自家的对手Janus公司。
不过，首席执行官离职也并不都是小报爆料的题材。很多掌门人都是优雅去职的，并没有把身后的公司当成一栋被遗忘的单身公寓。比如彭尼百货公司(J.C. Penney)近期就任命马文•埃里森为候补首席执行官，等迈克•乌尔曼2015年8月退休后就可上任。就连甲骨文公司（Oracle）创始人拉里•埃里森也决定退居二线，正式将首席执行官的职责让渡给萨夫拉•卡茨和马克•赫德。
当前，在首席执行官的薪酬涨个没完的情况下，能在工作和生活间找到平衡似乎更显诱人。此时来看看那些离职后既没留下烂摊子，也没有丑闻或甚至是法律纠纷的领导者就格外让人神清气爽了。
以下就是五位深谙领导之道的首席执行官，哪怕这意味着公司没有他们照样可以蒸蒸日上。
Gerard J. Arpey, AMR
杰勒德•阿佩，美利坚航空公司（AMR）
Declarations of bankruptcy have become an industry norm for airlines. By doing so, an airline can re-negotiate with unions and rid itself of unwanted costs. But in 2011, when AMR Corp.—parent of American Airlines—prepared to file its papers, the biggest opponent of the move was CEO and Chairman Gerard J. Arpey. He didn’t support the decision because he didn’t believe in walking away from commitments, like pensions, to appease investors.
“I believe it’s important to the character of the company and its ultimate long-term success to do your very best to honor those commitments,” Arpey told D. Michael Lindsay, the president of Gordon College, writing for The New York Times months before the bankruptcy decision. “It is not good thinking—either at the corporate level or at the personal level—to believe you can simply walk away from your circumstances.”
Arpey quit to let someone with experience handling bankruptcies to take over, despite the board’s request that he stay. He now works in private equity at the Emerald Creek Group.
Bill Gates, Microsoft
对航空公司来说，宣布破产已经变成一种行规。通过破产，航空公司就能和工会重新谈判，并砍掉多余成本。但当美利坚航空公司（AMR）——美国航空公司（American Airlines）的母公司——在2011年准备递交破产申请时，最大的反对者竟是首席执行官兼董事长杰勒德•阿佩。不支持这一决定的原因是，他从来不信奉逃离承诺（比如给工人支付养老金）以安抚投资者那一套。
破产决定数月前，在接受戈登学院（Gordon College）院长D•迈克尔•林赛为《纽约时报》(The New York Times)进行的采访时，阿佩说：“我坚信，尽自己最大努力来信守承诺，关乎这家公司的品格及其长远成功。无论是在公司层面还是个人层面，认为自己能随随便便摆脱现实、放弃责任都不是什么好想法。”
尽管董事会执意要他留任，阿佩还是辞了职，让富有破产处理经验的人来接手。目前他已加入私募投资公司Emerald Creek集团。
比尔•盖茨，微软公司
It may be easier to quit the company you founded when you’re one of the wealthiest men in the world. But few uber-rich CEOs have taken the lead in philanthropic causes like Bill Gates.
In 2008, Gates announced that he would step away from the day-to-day operations at Microsoft MSFT 1.81% (he resigned as CEO in 2000, but remained an integral part of the daily strategy at Microsoft as chief software architect until 2008) to devote more time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He remained Microsoft’s chairman through 2014.
Meanwhile, Gates has led initiatives to increase the availability of the polio and malaria vaccine across the world, improve world hunger through a $40 million agriculture research program. He even signed on to Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, committing a majority of his fortune to charity once he passes away.
Gates hasn’t avoided controversial topics. He stepped up efforts to reform the U.S. educational system, trumpeting the Common Core standards, which provide uniform curriculum guidelines for all American students. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have adopted the standards. But critics have circled, arguing the rules have produced limited results. Still, it represents one of the largest education reforms in U.S. history.
当你已是全球顶级富翁时，要从自己一手创办的公司辞职可能会比较容易。但是，没有几个超级富豪级的首席执行官能像比尔•盖茨那样，在离职后又成为慈善事业的领导者。
2008年，盖茨宣布他将不再参与微软公司（Microsoft）的日常运营（2000年他就辞去首席执行官一职，但2008年前仍作为首席软件架构师，参与公司日常战略的制定工作），转而将更多时间投入到比尔和梅林达•盖茨基金会（Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation）。直至2014年年底，他仍将留任微软董事长一职。
与此同时，盖茨一直致力于让全球各地的患者能更方便地获得小儿麻痹症和疟疾疫苗，并通过一个总额达4千万美元的农业科研项目来改善全球性饥荒问题。他甚至签署了沃伦•巴菲特的“捐款誓言”（Giving Pledge），承诺过世后将自己的绝大部分财富捐给慈善事业。
盖茨并没有回避争议性主题。他正加倍致力于美国教育体系的改革，大力推广共同核心标准（Common Core standards），这一标准将为美国所有学生提供统一的课程指南。43个州和哥伦比亚特区已经采取了这一标准。不过对此一直不乏批评之声，认为这些标准的成果有限。但它仍是美国历史上最大规模的教育改革之一。
Coby Brooks, Hooters
科比•布鲁克斯，猫头鹰餐厅
当科比•布鲁克斯继承这家以喜欢逗乐、着装性感火爆的女招待闻名的连锁餐厅时，它正在经历一场颇具悲剧色彩的危机。他的父亲罗伯特•布鲁克斯刚刚过世（他是在1984年买下这家餐厅并将其变为全国性连锁餐厅的）。老布鲁克斯2006年过世后，将其股份的30%留给科比，30%留给小女儿，剩下的部分留给其他家庭成员和一些机构。不过，罗伯特的第二任妻子对自己那一份并不满意。据称，这份股权可以让她在连续20年中每年获得100万美元。于是她就打起了官司，要求获得公司额外控制权。这导致猫头鹰餐厅（Hooters）陷入了围绕所有权展开的三年苦战。
最后到了2009年，双方终于达成协议，该协议迫使科比必须筹集资金才能保持公司正常运营。他并没有停滞不前，而是把鸡翅连锁店卖给了一群投资者。科比随后成了另一家“美胸餐厅”（breastaraunt）连锁店——“双峰”（Twin Peaks）的早期投资者，这家店在不到十年时间里在全美扩张至近60家分店。真是有其父必有其子。
梅格•惠特曼，易趣公司
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