Rebuilding from the top down

To paraphrase Lady Bracknell, a character in an Oscar Wilde play, to lose one chief executive is a misfortune, to lose two is careless. The news that both Zain and RAK Airways are today searching for new bosses might be seen as self-inflicted wounds. In RAK Airways's case, this is their sixth chief executive in two years, so perhaps the company's woes are too big for any one person to solve.

But ditching the pilot is sometimes unavoidable, even for an airline. It is also preferable to the alternative of having a lame duck leader who spends his time trying to keep his job, rather than building or restoring the fortunes of the business. We have seen in English Premier League football how successful it can be when you bring in a new coach. This is not to say that every struggling firm should sack its managers. After all, they probably got the company into the mess and might have a clue how to get it out.

But sometimes a new approach at the top can be a boon for customers, staff and investors. The doors will continue to revolve at boardrooms across the region. The quicker they turn, the sooner the rebuilding process can begin, and growth can return to the companies. @Email:rwright@thenational.ae