In Pics | From Disney to LinkedIn, CEOs of these 19 top companies stepped down in 2020

SUMMARY

2020 has been a cruel year even for the top names in the corporate world. From Disney to LinkedIn, CEOs of several top companies across the world stepped down owing to different reasons, ranging from the COVID-19 crisis to restructuring to ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. Here’s a look at the top companies whose CEOs stepped down this year:

By CNBC-TV18Dec 30, 2020 6:58:20 PM IST (Updated)

Disney: Disney’s longtime CEO Bob Iger resigned from the post on February 25. He, however, continues to serve as an executive chairman of the firm and will do so till 2021 end. Iger was replaced by Bob Chapek, who earlier served at Disney Parks. “I felt that with the asset bases in place and with our strategy deployed I should be spending as much time as possible on the creative side of our business,” Iger had said while resigning.

Hulu: Disney on January 31 announced the departure of Randy Freer as the CEO of Hulu. Freer's exit came as a part of a significant restructuring of the service. The restructuring plan involved the consolidation of Hulu with other streaming operations which include Disney+ and ESPN+, as per Forbes.

IBM: IBM on January 30 announced that its CEO Ginni Rometty was stepping down from the post. She was replaced by Arvind Krishna, the firm’s cloud business head. Krishna took over in April. Gometty remained on the company’s board as executive chair until retirement.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on February 5 announced his decision to step down from the post effective June 1. Weiner had been with the company for 11 years before he stepped down as the CEO of the company. He was replaced by Ryan Roslansky, former senior vice president of product. Weiner switched to being the executive chairman within the firm.

Salesforce and Vlocity: Keith Block, co-CEO of Salesforce, stepped down from the post on Feb 25, leaving Marc Benioff as the sole CEO of the business. The company on the same day had announced a deal to acquire the cloud and mobile software provider Vlocity.

MGM: MGM CEO Jim Murren stepped down from the post on Feb. 12, before the end of his contract. Bill Hornbuckle is currently serving as the acting CEO of the company.

Volkswagen: While Volkswagen has replaced Herbert Diess as the CEO of its core VW car brand with Ralf Brandstaetter, Diess continues to be the head of Volkswagen Group.

Mastercard: On February 25, Mastercard announced that Ajay Banga would step down as the CEO of the company in early 2021. Banga has served as the CEO of the company for 10 years.

Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works: On Feb 20, Les Wexner announced his resignation from the post of CEO of L Brands that owns brands including Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.

Harley Davidson: Harley-Davidson on February 28 announced that CEO Matthew Levatich had stepped down from his post. Jochen Zeitz took over as the interim CEO of the company.

Tinder/OK Cupid/Hinge (Match Group): Match Group, which owns Tinder, OKCupid and Hinge, on Jan 28, announced that Mandy Ginsberg was stepping down as the CEO of the company after 14 years at the firm.

The Wing: Workspace firm The Wing’s co-founder Audrey Gelman stepped down from the post of CEO on June 11 after she faced outrage from staff over how the company treated people of color.

Essence Magazine: Essence CEO Richelieu Dennis was ousted from the company after a group called ‘Black Female Anonymous’ released an exposé on the alleged “extremely unhealthy work culture.”

Away: Steph Korey first announced her decision to resign as the CEO in December but was back within weeks. Korey’s second resignation came in July after employees raised concerns about her Instagram post in which she suggested journalists target female executives as stories about them gave them more “clicks”.

Bleacher Report: Howard Mittman stepped down from the post of chief executive of Bleacher Report after concerns emerged internally over the diversity of staff at the website.

MedMen: MedMen co-founder Adam Bierman stepped down as the CEO of the company on February 1, after a sharp decline in its share price over the last year. The company had laid off 40 percent of its corporate workforce in 2019.

Credit Suisse: Tidjane Thiam resigned as CEO of Credit Suisse on February 6 after the company was found involved in stalking a former employee through a private investigator.

Outdoor Voices: Clothing brand Outdoor Voices’ founder and CEO Tyler Haney stepped down on February 21 after what was seen as a tough year for the firm. As per reports, the clothing brand lost around $2 million a month in 2019.

Fastly: Less than a year after internet infrastructure company Fastly went public, CEO Artur Bergman on February 22 announced his decision to leave the position.