CEO高龄标准再创新高

    大卫•默多克推进农产品供应商Dole Food实施私有化完全是一项长期策略。这位首席执行官斥资120亿美元全面收购这家公司的股份是为了在不受股市压力影响的情况下扭转它的经营状况。

    这笔钱对任何人来说都是一大笔资金，而且要用于一项无限期计划——更不用说执行者是一位今年4月份已经90岁的管理者。但对默多克来说，年龄并不可怕。作为Dole Food首席执行官，他对自己的饮食和健康有非常高的要求。默多克还说过，他认为自己能活到125岁。

    今天，公司高层在自己的位置上工作到80多岁已经不是什么大事。默多克则正在为90岁的管理者们开路。他是今年《财富》美国500强中年纪最大的CEO，紧随其后的是四位80多岁的管理者，其中包括汽车零售商Sonic Automotive首席执行官殴•伯顿•史密斯（86岁）、股神沃伦•巴菲特（82岁）、媒体大亨鲁珀特•默多克（82岁）和博彩公司Las Vegas Sands的谢尔顿•阿德尔森（80岁）。

    和默多克同在90岁CEO俱乐部的还有糖果公司Tootsie Roll Industries的梅尔文•戈登。Tootsie Roll Industries以口风严密著称，戈登年逾八旬的妻子埃伦•戈登则是该公司的首席运营官兼总裁。

    没有任何迹象表明默多克等人有退休的打算，从他们的个性中也看不出一丁点儿要退却的意思。高管研究公司Korn/Ferry International北美业务总裁鲍勃•达蒙说，默多克他们的表现和CEO平均任期不断缩短的趋势正好相反。现在，CEO的任职时间约为五年，少于2008年的七年。原因是股东不再那么有耐心，给公司负责人提高业绩的时间也更短。

    与此同时，经验丰富的管理者更受欢迎，他们能应付挑战和复杂的商业周期。达蒙说，董事会因此都希望CEO经受过风雨，拥有类似的经历和可以依赖的经验。他指出：“这些都是年纪较大的CEO所拥有的特征。”达蒙还认为，身体健康水平让这些高龄CEO能更好地履行自己的职责。

    公司治理研究机构BHJ Partners合伙人保罗•霍奇森说，对于CEO已到耄耋之年的公司来说，最大的挑战是制定继任计划。董事会需要有后备人选，他们并不习惯于这样做，因为这些公司的CEO在任时间很长。对于由创始人担任CEO的公司来说，它们还没有寻找过新的领导者。霍奇森指出：“一部分原因是他们已经在CEO职位上待了这么长时间。这些公司并不认为自己需要另一个CEO，所以为什么要费神去找呢。”

    霍奇森说，对默多克等人来说，这就像他们的最后巡演，“不必为了让他们留下来而给他们发奖金。”（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    David Murdock's push to take Dole Food private was all about long-term strategy. The CEO is buying out his company for $1.2 billion in order to implement a turnaround away from the pressures of the public market.

    That's a big chunk of cash -- to say nothing of an open-ended project -- for anyone, let alone an executive who turned 90 in April. But to Murdock, age wasn't a deterrent. The Dole (DOLE) CEO, who is obsessive about his diet and health, has said he has his 125th birthday in his sights.

    It's now a non-event when executives decide to hunker down in the corner office into their 80s. But Murdock is paving the way for nonagenarians. He is the oldest CEO in this year's Fortune 500, followed by four in their 80s: O. Burton Smith of Sonic Automotive (86), Warren Buffett (82), Rupert Murdoch (82), and Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands (80).

    Murdock is joined in the nonagenarian CEO club by Melvin Gordon of the notoriously close-mouthed Tootsie Roll Industries, whose COO and president is his octogenarian wife, Ellen Gordon.

    Murdock and other members of his cohort have signaled neither plans to retire, nor are they retiring personalities. They're bucking the trend of a declining average tenure for CEOs, says Bob Damon, president of North America for executive search firm Korn/Ferry International. Today CEOs stay in the job around five years, down from seven in 2008, as shareholders become impatient and give leadership a shorter time horizon to move the needle.

    Meanwhile demand has increased for seasoned leaders who can navigate a challenging and complex business cycle. As a result, Damon says boards want CEOs with "dents in their helmets" that have been through similar scenarios and can rely on their experience. "That all points to CEOs who have more years under their belt," he says. Trends around health and wellness are enhancing their ability to perform on the job, he adds.

    The biggest challenge for companies with CEOs in their 80s or 90s is succession planning, says Paul Hodgson of governance and research firm BHJ Partners. Board members need to have someone waiting in the wings, which is not something they're used to because of their chief executives long tenures. In the case of companies with founder-CEOs, they've also never gone through the exercise of finding a new leader. "Part of it is they've been there so long," he says, "they don't think they'll ever have another CEO so why bother looking for one."

    For the likes of Murdock, this is likely the final gig. "There's no reason for any retention bonuses," Hodgson says.