Is there something in the water?
This week alone, three legendary chief executives put in their walking papers: AOL Time Warner’s Jerry Levin, Vivendi Universal’s Edgar Bronfman Jr., and Hearst’s Frank Bennack Jr.
Coincidence? Possibly.
Or perhaps there’s more to the story.
With the media business facing one of its biggest slumps in years, the timing is not surprising.
But some say it may be more than just lack of ad dollars and depressed stock prices driving CEOs out the door.
The events of Sept. 11th may have played a bigger role in their decisions to leave.
Those who know AOL Time Warner CEO Jerry Levin say he has been much more emotional since the terrorist attacks in New York, and they may have played a part in the timing of his announcement.
It’s possible, say others, that many senior level execs have begun re-eveluating their lives in light of the tragedy.
Head hunters say its probably a little bit of everything.
“It’s a confluence of events,” said Geoff Champion, president of the advance technology group at Korn Ferry. “Everybody’s gone through a boom and made some money. Second, the issues that made them successful are different today. We’re no longer in a growth mode.”
Executives like Edgar Bronfman Jr. were successful because of the market, good timing and the attiude of investors, said Champion.
“A different environment calls for a different executive,” he said.
Champion said different times call for different players.
“It’s offense vs. defense,” he said. Companies are now looking for defensive players.
Still, some executive-level departures are just natural. Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, left at retirement age after riding out decades of storms at the industrial and entertainment company.
David Komansky, CEO at Merrill Lynch will leave next year, as will Lou Gerstner, IBM’s CEO. Their retirements have most likely been planned for years.