Our new CEO
It was almost 2 months since the company that I worked for was on the brink of bankrupcy. Luckily, at the crucial moment, US Federal Reserve saved the company by lending a huge sum of cash to resolve its short term liquidity issue.
If I were an outsider, probably I would think that all staff should be very worried. Never had I imagined worry only came late and accumulated gradually. As an insider, from "it's unbelieveable" to "let's face the reality", it took me a few weeks to come to real senses and to develop the feelings.
Looking back, there was one thing I could not figure out. In the loan agreement, changing the CEO was part of the deal. However, why on earth anyone would like to take up the sinking Titanic? Then, in just a couple of days, the new CEO (62 years old) was on board. In his first Town Hall meeting in New York, we all expected someone to ask the question, "Why did you take the job of turning around the company?" But no one asked it. Today, finally I got the answer from an on-line article featuring a recent interview with the new CEO. His response was :
"I was very happy in the life that I had crafted, which involved a couple of very nice boards of directors and private equity work with Clayton Dubilier & Rice, one of the premier firms in private equity.
Life is pretty simple: You can sit on the sidelines and be an observer or you can get in the game and see if you can help. I prefer the latter.
When I received a call from government officials, I thought long and hard about it: Was I ready to get back in the saddle? My conclusion was I think I can help the country out of its financial crisis by helping this company out of its (crisis), and that's why I decided to come on board and see what I could do."
I truly admired his attitude towards life, that optimized the use of one's gifts and talents as long as affordable, regardless of age, and directing towards a greater purpose. I wish I could have such type of attitude, courage and capability to "get in the game" in my senior years. Well, to be able to do that, I'd better stay healthy to live long enough and keep sharpening my skills/knowledge.
