BCG Mission

The Future of Leadership: Conversations with Leaders about Their Challenges and Opportunities

In developed markets, the Great Recession shredded income statements, shuttered factories, and trimmed workforces. While its effects were less severe in developing markets, the downturn still sent shock waves through China, India, and other emerging economies. Employees everywhere were looking to their leaders to make sense of the chaos. Leadership was then—and remains—a huge challenge. Over the past six months, as the economy has started to stabilize, BCG partners have talked to leaders from around the world about leadership in order to understand how they led through the Great Recession and whether they see leadership roles and styles changing.

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  • Introduction
  • Interviews
  • James M. Cornelius, Chairman and chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Jeff M. Fettig, Chairman and chief executive officer, Whirlpool Corporation
  • Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the board of executive directors, BASF
  • Alan Joyce, Chief executive officer, Qantas Airways
  • Uday Kotak, Executive vice-chairman, managing director, and principal founder, Kotak Mahindra Group
  • Liu Jiren, Chairman and chief executive officer, Neusoft Corporation
  • Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and chief executive officer, PepsiCo
  • Deepak S. Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation
  • Alessandro Profumo, Chief executive officer, UniCredit Group
  • Note to the Reader

Grant Freeland is a senior partner and managing director in the Boston office of The Boston Consulting Group.

Kimberly Powell is a global topic specialist for the change management topic in the Atlanta office of The Boston Consulting Group.

Rolf Bixner is a senior partner and managing director in the Amsterdam office of The Boston Consulting Group.

Andrew Dyer is a senior partner and managing director in the firm's Sydney office and the global leader of the Organization practice.

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