'Survival, then recovery': The CEO crisis playbook

The qualities required to be a successful leader in the current economic climate are very different from those in periods of growth and optimism.

New Westpac CEO Peter King is a numbers man with a simple strategy who "knows the business backwards". James Brickwood

Sally PattenBOSS editor

May 22, 2020 – 9.46am

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Chief executive candidates who go to boards with their grand 10-year vision for the company, accompanied by grand investment plans, may find themselves out in the cold.

For many companies, lofty transformation programs will need to be replaced by a short-term focus on revenue generation, cost-cutting, execution and the ability to make decisions quickly and motivate anxious staff.

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Sally PattenBOSS editorSally Patten edits BOSS, and writes about workplace issues. She was the financial services editor and personal finance editor of the AFR, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She edited business news for The Times of London.