????4月29日，在拉古娜尼格召開的《財富》雜志綠色頭腦風暴大會（Fortune's Brainstorm Green）上，寶潔（Procter & Gamble）CEO麥睿博遇到我時對我說：“我要證明你錯了。”當時的氣氛非常尷尬：就在兩個月前，我剛剛寫了一篇很長的文章，批判地分析了他作為CEO的表現（文章名為“麥睿博能挺過來嗎？”）。自從文章在《財富》雜志（Fortune）發表以后，這是我們兩人第一次見面。麥睿博想要證明的是，他將堅守自己的崗位——而且要取得成功。

????然而，不到一個月之后，一切都結束了。上周四股市收盤之后，寶潔公司發表聲明稱，領導公司四年時間之后，59歲的麥睿博將從6月30日正式退休——而他的前任雷富禮，將立即重掌帥印，擔任公司CEO、主席兼總裁。盡管受到牛市影響，加上它表現出的復蘇跡象，這家市值840億美元、擁有佳潔士（Crest）、幫寶適（Pampers）和潘婷（Pantene）等品牌的公司股價一直處于歷史最高點，但它能否像聯合利華（Unilever）等競爭對手那樣，繼續保持增長勢頭，依然難以預測。前寶潔高管加里?馬丁去年曾向公司董事會寫信投訴麥睿博的管理，他說：“我認為這是最符合公司利益的決定，雖然這個決定未免有些太遲?！?/p>

????雖然關于麥睿博即將離職的消息流傳已久，但在最終公布的時候仍讓許多人感到震驚。當時，公司許多高管正在日內瓦參加寶潔校友網絡全球大會（Alumni Network Global Conference），麥睿博本人原計劃在會上發言。就連寶潔的公關團隊也對此感到非常震驚；當時該部門許多人正在日內瓦參加會議。他們不得不在美國當日收盤后才發布消息——這意味著他們半夜還要忙于應付詢問電話。

????幾位知情的公司高管告訴《財富》雜志稱，他們并不知道公司會如此迅速做出這樣的決定——他們更沒想到，已經再婚并且正在從事鐵人三項的雷富禮，會有興趣重回公司執掌帥印。

????麥睿博把全部精力都投入到寶潔，而且在二月份，他還曾聲稱工作的挑戰令他“充滿活力”。無論此次辭職是出于自愿還是被迫，對于麥睿博而言都是一次痛苦的轉變。辛辛那提雷諾克斯資產管理公司（Lenox Asset Management）的約翰?萊姆表示：“麥睿博是個好人，他非常努力工作才獲得這份工作。他目前的處境肯定非常艱難，但我還是非常欽佩他能急流勇退，給新一代領導人走上前臺的機會?！边@家理財公司的許多客戶都是寶潔公司的員工。

????"I'm going to prove you wrong." That's what Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald said to me on April 29th, when we crossed paths at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference in Laguna Niguel. It was an awkward moment: Just over two months earlier, I had written a long, critical analysis of his performance as CEO (Can Bob McDonald Hang On?), and this was the first time we'd seen each other since Fortune published the article. What McDonald intended to prove was that he would stay in his job -- and succeed.

????Less than a month later, it was all over. On Thursday after the market close, P&G (PG) issued a release stating that McDonald, 59, was retiring, effective June 30, after almost four years at the helm -- and that his predecessor, A.G. Lafley, would take over as CEO, chairman, and president immediately. Although the stock had remained near an all-time high, helped by the bull market and signs of renewed energy at the $84 billion maker of Crest, Pampers, and Pantene, top-line growth remained elusive, even as competitors like Unilever (UL) managed it. Says Gary Martin, a former senior executive who wrote the board a letter complaining about McDonald's management last year: "I think it's in the best interest of the company, and it's overdue."

????Though long rumored, the news came as a shock when it finally broke. Many executives were in Geneva for P&G's Alumni Network Global Conference, a gathering at which McDonald himself had been scheduled to speak. Even Procter's PR team, some of whom were in Geneva, seemed to be taken by surprise; they had to release the news after the market close in the U.S. -- meaning they were fielding calls through the middle of the night.

????Several executives close to the company told Fortune they hadn't known such a move was imminent -- and hadn't had any inkling that Lafley, who had gotten remarried and taken up triathlons, would be interested in returning.

????Whether or not McDonald resigned of his own accord or was pushed, it is surely a painful turn of events for a man who was devoted to P&G and who as recently as February proclaimed himself "energized" by the challenges of the job. Says John Lame of Lenox Asset Management, a Cincinnati-based money management firm that works with many Procter & Gamble employees: "Bob is a good man who worked very, very hard to get the job. It's a difficult situation, but I admire him for stepping out and letting the new generation of leadership come forward."