If Mr Freston was indeed the wrong man, a wiser course would have been to appoint another strong, independent manager, not a loyal retainer.
In fact, Obama's most consequential economic decision may have been to appoint Yellen in 2014, after reappointing her predecessor, Ben S. Bernanke, in 2010.
The alternative structure to separating the roles of CEO and Chair has been to appoint a Lead Director to serve as a counterbalance and provide a form of independent leadership.
Weak boards get steam-rollered by domineering chief executives or even by non-executive chairmen.The quick fix has apparently been to appoint alumni of McKinsey, a consulting firm, to run the shop.
Weakened physically, as well as politically, his management style has been to appoint a Prime Minister, allow him enormous leeway in forming new policies and then monitor the affairs of state from a country residence outside Moscow.
The original plan had been to appoint Terry Fenwick (most recent managerial spell: a seven-game winless tenure with Northampton) but fan fury at the sackings prompted a rethink.
