Good morning. Former Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers once told me that a CEO has three main tasks: to set the vision and strategy of the company, to hire the senior leadership team to get it done, and to create the conditions to successfully replace themselves. To that, I’d add a fourth: Know when and how to move aside.
Dow announced yesterday that chief operating officer Karen Carter will become CEO on July 1, with Jim Fitterling staying on as executive chair. My colleague Ruth Umoh noted that Carter was a leading contender for that job, having landed on the latest Fortune Next to Lead list. In a LinkedIn post, Fitterling noted that Carter’s appointment “reflects a deliberate, multi‑year succession process, in partnership with our Board of Directors, designed to support consistent execution as we continue advancing Dow’s strategy.”
Kudos to Fitterling for taking succession seriously. Now, he should give Carter space to do her job.
During his eight-year tenure, Fitterling has transformed Dow from a commodity chemicals company to an innovative high-growth materials science company. As one of the few openly gay leaders in the Fortune 500, he’s also an inspiration to many who don’t know the company. But he’s only just starting to get a significant rebound in the stock and traction from technology after seeing sales crushed by industry overcapacity, tariffs, and other challenges.
And he made clear a new CEO is not a shift in course. “Our direction is unchanged,” he wrote in his post, noting that his plan going forward is to “focus on long‑term strategy, governance, and key external relationships—supporting Karen and the leadership team to ensure continuity and strong execution.”
It’s easy to take comfort in a former CEO staying close by during tough times. But Disney’s Bob Iger learned the hard way the importance of giving successors a clean slate. Many wonder if Iger’s continuation as executive chair factored into Bob Chapek’s short tenure and Iger’s sudden return to the CEO job. (In Disney’s latest shakeup, Iger is only staying on the board as a senior advisor to CEO Josh D’Amaro through the end of the year.)
Carter will face the same headwinds as her boss. As Fitterling told energy editor Jordan Blum last month: “The volatility is off the charts right now.” She might welcome his guidance as she takes over a capital-intensive, energy-sensitive global business that’s navigating a cyclical downturn, war, regulations and a brand-new “transform to outperform” plan to quickly cut costs with automation and AI.
That said, Carter knows operations. She’s done it for years. As CEO, it will now be her job to set the vision and strategy for Dow and to put together her own team to get it done. Maybe that means continuity, or maybe she’ll decide to take a different direction amid new realities. And Fitterling will hopefully know when to step aside and give her the space to do her job.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
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