Updated – It’s a bad time to be in charge. Lots of major companies have dropped CEOs for unpleasant causes in 2010-11:
| Company | Person | Why They’re Gone |
| Apple | Steve Jobs | http://zeke.ws/ogcSIO |
| BP | Tony Hayward | http://zeke.ws/mUhrNd |
| Eric Schmidt | http://zeke.ws/p2N5TL | |
| HP | Mark Hurd | http://zeke.ws/pYoID5 |
| Léo Apotheker | http://zeke.ws/n3vsbI | |
| Nokia | Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo | http://zeke.ws/rgtWOI |
| T-Mobile USA | Robert Dotson | http://zeke.ws/oeozcx |
| Yahoo! | Carol Bartz | http://zeke.ws/rdzRGI |
Very strange to see the “who’s-who” list of tech – Apple, HP, Google, Nokia, Yahoo! – shaking up their leadership in the same short period.
…But then again, I’d probably rather be a fired CEO than one of the heads of state or government who either resigned or lost their posts amidst human rights outcries and widespread economic instability in 2010-11:
| Country | Person | Position | Why They’re Gone |
| Chile | Michelle Bachelet | President | http://zeke.ws/psUwPU |
| Egypt | Hosni Mubarak | President | http://zeke.ws/nuiJ40 |
| Ireland | Brian Cowen | Taoiseach | http://zeke.ws/oT607A |
| Japan | Naoto Kan | Prime Minister | http://zeke.ws/pmcECv |
| Jordan | Samir Rifai | Prime Minister | http://zeke.ws/nIW8Bu |
| Libya | Muammar Gaddafi | Dictator | http://zeke.ws/qulhTp |
| South Korea | Chung Un-chan | Prime Minister | http://zeke.ws/oodoP1 |
| Syria | Muhammad Naji al-Otari | Prime Minister | http://zeke.ws/qEuFD8 |
| Thailand | Abhisit Vejjajiva | Prime Minister | http://zeke.ws/nUfYnT |
| Tunisia | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | President | http://zeke.ws/oDskWY |
| United Kingdom | Gordon Brown | Prime Minister | http://zeke.ws/pu9lyQ |
| United States | Nancy Pelosi | Speaker of the House | http://zeke.ws/pHUUQv |
| Yemen | Ali Abdullah Saleh | President | http://zeke.ws/pXyBf4 |
I find this self-selected list pretty staggering as-is. Feel free to let me know if I missed anyone important…