Gillette has two big shareholders as directors, one of whom is Warren Buffett, one of the world s most successful investors. Ex-chief executive Michael Hawley was forced into retirement last autumn, after just two years as chief executive, because of problems with the company s share price and its profits. In a surprise move, the board of directors chose to go outside the company for his replacement. Traditionally it has chosen successors internally. It wouldn t have been easy before to place a chief executive from the outside.
Merger fall out A flurry of mergers and acquisitions also contributed to the turnover.
Generally, one chief executive has to leave when a merger takes place and this can create a knock on effect down the line. Two years after DaimlerChrysler s merger, the ascendancy of German management has led to large scale departures among the company s top American executives. One of the latest to leave was James Holden, the president and chief executive of Chrysler, who went in November. Headhunters say that if the current turnover continues, there may be a significant shortage of talent for chief executives. That s because there are so few to choose from among the thirtysomethings the generation just after the baby boomers.