As we grapple with today’s challenges to diversity and inclusion, the hurdles overcome by the brave hearts of yesteryear seem all the more admirable. On paper, David E. Harris was the perfect candidate for a job as a commercial pilot, but when airline recruiters realized he was Black, they didn’t bother calling him back. After years of persistence, he eventually became America’s first Black commercial pilot. “It should have happened long before 1964,” he said. Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello battled her own set of prejudices, rising from secretarial college to become the CEO of international container ship line Contship. She walked a historic path to the top powered by an indefatigable spirit—in her trademark pink stilettos.
McKinsey recently lost one of its own. Ron Daniel, who gave more than 60 years to a career at McKinsey and 12 as global managing partner, devoted his life to service. He embodied the consummate servant leader, both at McKinsey—working with clients, other partners, and as a tireless mentor—and on a number of philanthropic boards. Despite his busy schedule, he also espoused an early-to-bed philosophy: “Nothing good happens after 9:00 p.m.,” he was known to say.
Other luminaries of the business world we’ve lost in recent months lived rich lives, ripe with lessons for all of us on ambition, leadership, and enjoyment. Read on to follow a few of their journeys.
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The first female CEO of an NYSE-listed company and two lives that bookended an era
