Leadership during Covid-19: how 12 business leaders navigated the crisis

A furniture manufacturer’s five-month struggle with Covid. ‘You really can’t have a plan.’

To reopen after the spring blockades, Century Furniture’s North Carolina family had to manage frightened workers, volatile orders and more coronavirus outbreaks in their factories and markets.

Wegmans spoiled his customers. Now you have to protect them.

Companies that used to indulge their customers are adapting to an era in which buyers also pose dangers. Wegmans, a supermarket chain that has inspired cult followers, discovered how challenging this transformation can be.

New Clorox CEO is running to keep wet wipes on store shelves

Linda Rendle took over Clorox’s senior position in September, becoming one of the youngest leaders in a Fortune 500 company. Her challenge: meeting the demand fueled by the coronavirus.

Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, has no time for Hollywood egos

The new head of the entertainment giant wanted to shake up the company as soon as possible, throwing out old conventions. The pandemic gave him permission to do so.

Quibi was supposed to revolutionize Hollywood. See why it failed.

Investors injected $ 1.75 billion into the short video startup largely because they trusted the instincts and vision of its founder, film magnate Jeffrey Katzenberg, and its CEO, Meg Whitman. But the pair’s famous instincts proved to be wrong.

Does the Gap Escape the Whirlwind? New CEO faces years of decline

The pandemic destroyed many retailers who were already on unstable ground. To avoid this at Gap and revive the company’s eponymous brand, Sonia Syngal is planning a future with fewer stores and more risks in fashion.

‘Let’s fly, for God’s sake.’ Behind the American Airlines Chief all-in strategy

CEO Doug Parker added flights back quickly this summer, despite a coronavirus storm approaching.

The incredible shrinkage master: Mary Barra bets that the smaller the better

The CEO simplified a company that for decades reigned as the world’s largest carmaker. So, she prepared for the next big bet: electric cars. The pandemic has not changed that.

The Covid crisis taught David Farr the power and limits of leadership

Emerson Electric’s CEO revealed his firm control and belief in constant action. The pandemic made much of that experience irrelevant. And yet he never stopped moving. Going through a crisis was better on your mind than waiting for action.

Coronavirus versus the last grocer in town

Frank Timberlake, the owner of the only grocery store in Rich Square, North Carolina, had no corporate support when the pandemic broke out. The local health department gave little advice. He made decisions based on TV news, occasional emails from a group of grocery stores and “what my heart tells me”.

How Pfizer delivered a Covid vaccine in record time: crazy deadlines, an insistent CEO

The drugmaker and its partner reduced the normal time to develop a vaccine from more than 10 years to less than one. This is due in part to their bet on a new technology based on genes. It was also the product of demanding leadership, which bordered on the irrational.

Reopening the restaurant was not the quick fix needed by its owners

Reopening after the spring locks turned out to be more challenging for a restaurant owner in Georgia than closing in the first place.