Case Study: The CEO Suffered a Breakdown. Now What?
Summary.
Klaus Engelhardt, the chairman of Kraftwerke Grün, hunched over his smartphone in the parking lot of the Berliner Hof club, attempting to shield the screen from the glare. He was still in his tennis clothes, and the cool early-spring air was beginning to make him shiver. Just the day before, Kraftwerke Grün’s CEO, Alex Reinhardt, had left the office after stumbling and banging his head on his desk, and Klaus had been anxiously awaiting an update. He’d just received a text message from Alex’s wife: “Klaus, this is Gina. Alex fainted yesterday. That’s why he fell and injured himself. He’s been undergoing tests for the past 24 hours. The diagnosis is dehydration and exhaustion. We’re relieved it isn’t more serious, but we’re concerned for Alex’s mental health.1 The doctors have recommended that he take a leave of absence.”