How Corporate Boards Deal With a Lost Successor

When American Express President Ed Gilligan died suddenly on a business trip to Japan last week, the company’s board of directors faced two problems: mourning the unexpected loss of a colleague who had given 35 years of service, and finding a new successor to a longtime chief executive. Gilligan was widely considered a top contender to replace Amex CEO Kenneth Chenault after the 64-year-old leader eventually steps down.

“Organizations have to deal with the death first,” said John Joseph, an assistant professor of strategy at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Board members have personal relationships with senior executives and so may be involved in memorial preparations. In a letter to Amex employees, Chenault wrote that the loss was “ deeply painful and frankly unimaginable” to his colleagues,