Founders Who Left Their Own Cos
9) David Neeleman –
David Neeleman was the CEO and founder of JetBlue, an airlines company. Neeleman had proved that entering a low-cost airlines space was tough but not impossible. JetBlue gave good competition to Southwest Airlines, which is leading in its sector. Neeleman was badly criticized for his wrong decision that left about 1,100 planes caught in the middle of a storm on February 14, in 2007. Also, the passengers were stranded in the storm with no water, food and functional bathrooms. This unfortunate incident receive such negative publicity that the board decided to remove Neeleman. This decision to fire a CEO does not seem all that wrong, considering that the poor passengers had gone through hell because of him.
10) Jakob Lodwick -
Jakob Lodwick was the co-founder of Vimeo, a video sharing site. He has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, like – gimmicks to capture attention through obscene actions. InterActive Corp bought 51 percent shares in the associated companies of Vimeo, like - Connected Ventures and Busted Tees and was instrumental in firing Lodwick. Though Lodwick had nothing bad to say about his getting fired, it is still unclear as to why he was removed from his company. the most obvious reason might have been his odd lifestyle and carefree attitude towards his personal image, which adversely affected his professional one. This is one example of how separating personal and professional spheres is very difficult in the world of business