Anyone can get it, and die

Professionals who help companies ensure leadership continuity say the coronavirus crisis has added a new urgency to their work. Some say clients are mulling whether to further isolate key executives; other clients have made private jets a given for top leaders who still travel; some have scattered top lieutenants across the globe as an added precaution. At least one is poised to hire a new chief executive officer largely by video interviews.

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"And while bosses like JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon -- a cancer survivor who just had emergency heart surgery -- have a good plan in place, today’s coronavirus crisis means “you have to think of the succession to the succession[," said Davia Temin, founder of New York crisis consultancy Temin & Co.]

The death of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Chief Financial Officer Peg Broadbent from complications tied to the coronavirus, disclosed Sunday, highlights the risk. Top executives at Altria Group, U.K. telcom company BT Group PLc, and NBCUniversal have been sickened by the virus. The chairman of the Portuguese unit of Santander, Spain’s largest bank, died from it earlier this month.

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The death of 56-year-old Broadbent at Jefferies Group was particularly noteworthy because it marked one of the first deaths among senior Wall Street executives from the pandemic. Jefferies is one of the largest independent investment banking firms headquartered in the U.S. and the parent company’s main subsidiary. His death struck a chord on Wall Street, where thousands of traders deemed essential are still heading into work every day as the pandemic ravages New York City.

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Altria Group said March 19 that CEO Howard Willard III was taking a leave of absence for treatment from the virus and that his CFO will assume Willard’s duties in the interim. BT Group CEO Philip Jansen went into self-isolation earlier in March with what he described at the time as relatively mild symptoms. More than two weeks on, he’s set to return to the office soon.

Broadband company WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone said Sunday that CEO Teresa Elder was hospitalized in Denver on Friday after testing positive for Covid-19.

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Based on the pervasiveness of the virus, it’s likely there are other executives who are ill but haven’t yet disclosed their status, said Temin, who brought aboard a medical doctor to consult with her firm.

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Even the way executives are being selected is having to adapt to the new rules of the pandemic. Two weeks ago, when the virus was just starting to hit the U.S., the board of one company flew together on a private jet, along with one of two candidates for CEO, so that none of them would have to fly commercial, said Tom Flannery, the managing partner who leads the U.S. CEO and Board services practice at executive recruiter Boyden.

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One corporation that normally concentrates leaders at the U.S. headquarters now has dispersed the top three executives between the U.S., Europe and Asia, Stevenson said. Many clients are mandating down time for top executives, to ensure they are taking time to recharge and ensure the needs of their own families.

  alJazeera

Too bad their employees don't get the same treatment. Work, peons, work.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.