Leading Through a Crisis with Ryan Petersen

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Friends,

No company follows precisely the same path as another. But certain patterns repeat. One is the Napoleonic Return: a CEO leaves the company they have founded – either by choice or force – only to reclaim their position after a period away. After being forced out by Apple’s board in 1985, Steve Jobs spent 12 years in the wilderness, building NeXT, before returning to power. Howard Schulz stepped back from leading Starbucks at the turn of the millennium, reappearing eight years later when the financial crisis roiled the coffee maker. In 2004, Michael Dell passed the reins to his COO before seizing them back three years later. 

Few have pulled off the Napoleonic Return quite as quickly as Ryan Petersen. (His only better in this regard is Sam Altman, whose coup lasted a mere five days). In March of 2023, former Amazon exec Dave Clark became the sole CEO of Flexport, taking over from its founder. Just seven months later, he was out. 

Much was written about the move at the time, but not since. In today’s final letter with Ryan Petersen, he shares what happened from his perspective, walking through what went wrong, why he needed to return, how he stabilized a flagging organization, and the hard decisions made in the process. It’s an intimate look at the strategic and emotional impact of a founder reclaiming control over their company – invaluable for entrepreneurs and investors. 

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