Biggest CEO departures of 2011

Biggest CEO departures of 2011

Biggest CEO departures of 2011, In a year of business scandals & a rough economy, Forbes.com revisits the big corner-office changes that drove headlines & shook up industries. The corporate world has seen several high-profile departures this year. As usual, few chief executives left on their own terms.

Top-down change
"Biggest" is, of course, a relative term, but all of the chief executives on a Forbes.com list of the year's most significant corner-office clear-outs caused big stirs within their industries, drove headlines beyond them and brought change to their companies.

Some left in scandal, others to make way for a new generation of leaders. Most departed as their companies struggled to make profits and stay ahead of rapidly changing business environments.

Most, but not all, walked away with huge severance payouts.

Click through the following slide show (published Dec. 12) for details about changes at the top of some of America's best-known companies.

Steve Jobs, Apple
Apple's (AAPL) announcement that Steve Jobs would step down as chief executive on Aug. 24, just a little more than a month before his death, heralded the year's most significant CEO departure.

Jon Corzine, MF Global
Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor, U.S. senator and head of Goldman Sachs (GS), has continued making headlines since resigning from MF Global on Nov. 4. Authorities are investigating the fallen brokerage, which bought billions in bonds from countries like Ireland and Spain and hid the transactions off its balance sheet.

Michael Woodford, Olympus
Olympus, (OCNY), the giant Japanese camera-maker, ousted Michael Woodford, its British chief executive, in October. Woodford, who took the top job only six months earlier, had questioned billions in takeover costs. The company has since admitted it cooked the books. Legal probes are ongoing, and Woodford has met with top shareholders in a bid to regain the top post.

Eric Schmidt, Google
Google (GOOG) co-founder Larry Page, 38, is replacing the 56-year-old Eric Schmidt as chief executive at the search giant. The move was made to try to infuse the company with the passion and speed of a startup.

Leo Apotheker, Hewlett-Packard
In 11 months at the helm of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Leo Apotheker struck a number of deals that analysts criticized. Shares in the tech pioneer shed 47% of their value during Apotheker's tenure. New CEO Meg Whitman, who came on board in September, has reversed her predecessor's decision to sell its PC business.

US drone crashes in Seychelles

US drone crashes in Seychelles

US drone crashes in Seychelles, NAIROBI, Kenya -- An American military drone that had been used to monitor piracy off the East African coast has crashed at an airport on the island nation of Seychelles during a routine patrol, officials said Tuesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Mauritius said the unmanned U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper was not armed and that the crash caused no injuries. The crash sparked a fire that was quickly extinguished.
Lina Laurence of Seychelles' civilian aviation authority said the drone developed engine problems minutes into its flight and needed to land as soon as possible Tuesday morning.
"But due to its accelerated landing speed, the aircraft was unable to stop before the runway's end," Laurence said.
The embassy's statement said the cause of the crash is being investigated.
"It has been confirmed that this drone was unarmed and its failure was due to mechanical reasons," Laurence said.
The affected runway was closed for about 10 minutes as a "precautionary measure," but was later reopened with no disruption to airport operations, Laurence said.
The U.S. military and the civilian aviation authority of Seychelles have coordinated to remove the debris, officials said.
While U.S. Air Force officials attempt to determine the cause of the crash, initial reports indicate that upon landing the drone failed to stop and ran off the runway into large rocks along the shoreline, U.S. officials said in Washington.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-to-high altitude unmanned aircraft system with sensors that can provide real-time data. The Seychelles-based MQ-9s, which are used to monitor piracy activities in and around the Indian Ocean, don't carry weapons, though they have the capability to do so.
Tuesday's crash follows last week's claim by Iran that it seized a drone identified as the RQ-170 Sentinel. Tehran said it was captured over the country's east. The nearly intact drone was displayed on state TV and flaunted as a victory for Iran in a complicated intelligence and technological battle with the U.S.
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U.S. officials said the unmanned aircraft malfunctioned and was not brought down by Iran. President Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. wants the top-secret aircraft back and has delivered a formal request for the return of the surveillance drone, though it isn't hopeful that Iran will comply.
The U.S. has used drones to hunt down al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia and Yemen, among other countries. Their humming is a constant feature in the sky in many of the major towns in southern Somalia, especially the capital city and the militant-controlled southern port of Kismayo. It was not clear if drones operated out of the Seychelles are used for that purpose.

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