宝洁前掌门重掌帅印

    4月29日，在拉古娜尼格召开的《财富》杂志绿色头脑风暴大会（Fortune's Brainstorm Green）上，宝洁（Procter & Gamble）CEO麦睿博遇到我时对我说：“我要证明你错了。”当时的气氛非常尴尬：就在两个月前，我刚刚写了一篇很长的文章，批判地分析了他作为CEO的表现（文章名为“麦睿博能挺过来吗？”）。自从文章在《财富》杂志（Fortune）发表以后，这是我们两人第一次见面。麦睿博想要证明的是，他将坚守自己的岗位——而且要取得成功。

    然而，不到一个月之后，一切都结束了。上周四股市收盘之后，宝洁公司发表声明称，领导公司四年时间之后，59岁的麦睿博将从6月30日正式退休——而他的前任雷富礼，将立即重掌帅印，担任公司CEO、主席兼总裁。尽管受到牛市影响，加上它表现出的复苏迹象，这家市值840亿美元、拥有佳洁士（Crest）、帮宝适（Pampers）和潘婷（Pantene）等品牌的公司股价一直处于历史最高点，但它能否像联合利华（Unilever）等竞争对手那样，继续保持增长势头，依然难以预测。前宝洁高管加里•马丁去年曾向公司董事会写信投诉麦睿博的管理，他说：“我认为这是最符合公司利益的决定，虽然这个决定未免有些太迟。”

    虽然关于麦睿博即将离职的消息流传已久，但在最终公布的时候仍让许多人感到震惊。当时，公司许多高管正在日内瓦参加宝洁校友网络全球大会（Alumni Network Global Conference），麦睿博本人原计划在会上发言。就连宝洁的公关团队也对此感到非常震惊；当时该部门许多人正在日内瓦参加会议。他们不得不在美国当日收盘后才发布消息——这意味着他们半夜还要忙于应付询问电话。

    几位知情的公司高管告诉《财富》杂志称，他们并不知道公司会如此迅速做出这样的决定——他们更没想到，已经再婚并且正在从事铁人三项的雷富礼，会有兴趣重回公司执掌帅印。

    麦睿博把全部精力都投入到宝洁，而且在二月份，他还曾声称工作的挑战令他“充满活力”。无论此次辞职是出于自愿还是被迫，对于麦睿博而言都是一次痛苦的转变。辛辛那提雷诺克斯资产管理公司（Lenox Asset Management）的约翰•莱姆表示：“麦睿博是个好人，他非常努力工作才获得这份工作。他目前的处境肯定非常艰难，但我还是非常钦佩他能急流勇退，给新一代领导人走上前台的机会。”这家理财公司的许多客户都是宝洁公司的员工。

    "I'm going to prove you wrong." That's what Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald said to me on April 29th, when we crossed paths at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference in Laguna Niguel. It was an awkward moment: Just over two months earlier, I had written a long, critical analysis of his performance as CEO (Can Bob McDonald Hang On?), and this was the first time we'd seen each other since Fortune published the article. What McDonald intended to prove was that he would stay in his job -- and succeed.

    Less than a month later, it was all over. On Thursday after the market close, P&G (PG) issued a release stating that McDonald, 59, was retiring, effective June 30, after almost four years at the helm -- and that his predecessor, A.G. Lafley, would take over as CEO, chairman, and president immediately. Although the stock had remained near an all-time high, helped by the bull market and signs of renewed energy at the $84 billion maker of Crest, Pampers, and Pantene, top-line growth remained elusive, even as competitors like Unilever (UL) managed it. Says Gary Martin, a former senior executive who wrote the board a letter complaining about McDonald's management last year: "I think it's in the best interest of the company, and it's overdue."

    Though long rumored, the news came as a shock when it finally broke. Many executives were in Geneva for P&G's Alumni Network Global Conference, a gathering at which McDonald himself had been scheduled to speak. Even Procter's PR team, some of whom were in Geneva, seemed to be taken by surprise; they had to release the news after the market close in the U.S. -- meaning they were fielding calls through the middle of the night.

    Several executives close to the company told Fortune they hadn't known such a move was imminent -- and hadn't had any inkling that Lafley, who had gotten remarried and taken up triathlons, would be interested in returning.

    Whether or not McDonald resigned of his own accord or was pushed, it is surely a painful turn of events for a man who was devoted to P&G and who as recently as February proclaimed himself "energized" by the challenges of the job. Says John Lame of Lenox Asset Management, a Cincinnati-based money management firm that works with many Procter & Gamble employees: "Bob is a good man who worked very, very hard to get the job. It's a difficult situation, but I admire him for stepping out and letting the new generation of leadership come forward."