宝洁CEO雷富礼第二次交班，这次结果会比上次好一些吗？

    上一次，雷富礼从消费品巨头宝洁公司卸任CEO一职时，被许多人视为企业史上最谨慎的权力移交之一。

    笔者曾经对雷富礼及其继任者麦睿博（现任美国联邦政府退伍军人事务部部长）进行过数日的采访，《财富》杂志随后刊发的文章详细介绍了他为何以及如何选择麦睿博作为自己的接班人。雷富礼于2009年退休，被称赞为空前的英雄式CEO。此后，作为一位备受欢迎的企业战略专家，他开始了一段金光熠熠的半退休生活。

    为确保权杖顺利交接，宝洁公司开展了诸多工作，但收效甚微。由于经济陷于衰退，雷富礼迅速卸去董事长职务，以及麦睿博自身的过失等诸多原因，宝洁公司设计完美的权力交接计划产生了令人失望的结果。在麦睿博任期内，宝洁公司艰难地应对着核心美妆护理业务严重下滑、创新速度放缓、来自维权股东的审查、以及员工士气下降等问题。2013年，麦睿博在压力下黯然辞职，雷富礼再度出山。

    然而，在不到两年后的今天，《华尔街日期》报道称，大卫•泰勒将被任命为宝洁公司（其销售额达到830亿美元）下任CEO。宝洁公司“未对传言发表评论”。此次权利交接会比上次效果更好吗？

    当然，这项任命并不会让人感到惊讶。泰勒已在宝洁公司工作35年，一直被视为最有力的竞争者。今年1月公司重组时，泰勒被任命为宝洁公司美容美妆护理和保健业务全球总裁，这被外界看作是成为继任CEO的信号。与麦睿博相同，泰勒符合担任宝洁公司典型CEO的各方面条件：在宝洁工作多年，拥有全球（中国和西欧）和多业务部门工作经验（护发、家庭和居家护理业务）；在公司内部备受尊敬；是男性白种人（多位女性候选人落选）。

    宝洁公司原市场销售经理吉姆•斯登戈尔表示，“大卫是个不错的选择。他很聪明、拥有个人魅力，非常正直，而且全心全意为宝洁公司服务。”

    在第二届任期期间，雷富礼进行了大量的重组工作，砍掉约100种表现不佳的品牌，努力推动陷于停滞的公司文化的发展，并大幅削减成本。但宝洁股票的表现仍低于麦睿博任职时期，销售增长依旧停滞，在截至6月30日的财年中，估计增长率约为2%。

    雷富礼致力于推动宝洁公司实现成功。他放弃舒适轻松的退休生活，致力于解决问题的做法，理应获得无数的赞赏。但是，如果他在重掌大印不足两年后，而且公司仍面临着与以往相同的长期挑战时离任，人们很容易从不同角度看待他的声誉，并怀疑另一位完全胜任的内部候选人能否扭转乾坤。（财富中文网）

    The last time A.G. Lafley stepped down as CEO of the Procter & Gamble Company PG 0.33% , it was interpreted (by many, but especially by me), as one of the most carefully considered handoffs in corporate history.

    I spent days with Lafley and his successor, Bob McDonald (now head of the federal Veterans Affairs Administration), and the piece Fortune published detailed exactly how—and why—McDonald was chosen. Lafley retired in 2009, hailed as an all-time CEO hero, and began a gilded semi-retirement as an in-demand guru on corporate strategy.

    But for all the work done to ensure a smooth succession, it didn’t work. For many reasons, including the recession, Lafley’s quick exit as chairman, and McDonald’s own missteps, P&G’s perfectly planned succession turned sour. Under McDonald’s tenure, the consumer products giant battled a big slowdown in its core beauty business, slowing innovation, scrutiny from activist shareholders, and sinking morale. In 2013, McDonald resigned under pressure, to be replaced by Lafley once again. (For Fortune’s deep dive on this, see “Can Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald hang on?”)

    Now, less than two years later, WSJ is reporting—and the company is “not commenting on speculation”—that David Taylor is about to be named the next CEO of the $83 billion in sales Procter & Gamble. Will this handoff go better than the last one?

    Certainly, if the transition is announced on Tuesday, after the company’s board meeting, it would come as no surprise. Taylor, a 35-year P&G vet, has long been considered a top contender. Since a reshuffling in January, when Taylor was elevated to group president for global beauty, grooming and health care, it seemed all but certain that he would be the next inhabitant of the corner office. Like McDonald, Taylor checks all the boxes of a typical P&G CEO: a long career at the company, including both global (China, Western Europe) and multiple business unit expertise (hair, family, home care); he’s well respected internally; and, yes, he’s a white male (several female candidates fell by the wayside).

    “David is a great choice,” says former P&G global head of marketing Jim Stengel. “He is smart, engaging, deep in integrity, and totally committed to P&G.”

    Lafley has done a lot of reorganizing in his second tenure at P&G. He announced the company’s intention to sell off some 100 underperforming brand, tried to get the moribund culture moving, and cut costs dramatically. Yet the company’s stock performance has lagged what it was under McDonald, and sales growth remains stagnant, up an estimated 2% in the fiscal year ended June 30.

    Lafley is clearly committed to P&G’s success, and he deserves enormous credit for giving up his comfortable and easy retirement to focus on the hard stuff. But if he leaves now—after less than two years back at the helm and with the company still facing the same secular challenges as before—it’s hard not to consider his reputation in a different light, and wonder whether yet another perfectly qualified internal candidate can make a difference.