The Big Picture: CEOs on what they've learned after a year of COVID-19

How has the pandemic affected your industry? We asked CEOs in a variety of fields about how their leadership has changed after facing extraordinary challenges over the past 12 months. Each offers three hard-won pieces of advice.

To mark one year since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, we asked CEOs in various industries about their greatest challenges and what they have learned in these extraordinary 12 months.

The hard-learned lessons can serve as an inspiration for other leaders. Here are three action items from each leader after a full year battling the COVID-19 crisis.

HOSPITALITY

Raúl González
CEO EMEA, Barceló Hotel Group

• Redefine your priorities. You may have to modify your objectives, KPIs and work groups, among other areas.
• Arm yourself with an objective and informed opinion about the current state of affairs and about possible future scenarios.
• Keep your organization calm and your teams motivated through constant communication that is proactive, sincere and empathetic.

LOGISTICS

Romaine Seguin
President for the Americas Region, UPS

• Focus on your customers and their needs.
• Find new solutions and be creative. It's about innovation, focusing on the future.
• Take a few moments to say thanks to your team in a genuine way as they are working harder than ever.

BANKING

Paco Ybarra
CEO Institutional Clients Group, Citi

• Think about how digitalization is affecting your business model: Is it just accelerating things or is there a significant step-change in adoption that requires a more fundamental strategic response?
• Define where your new normal is and what it means for talent acquisition, training and flexibility for remote versus office-based work.
• Identify what the increased preference for disruptors in capital markets means for your business model and strategy: Do you collaborate with them? Do you simplify and focus on businesses that have a clearer, stronger competitive position?

PHARMACEUTICALS

Ricardo Castrillo
CEO Spain, Ferrer

• Apply new AI technologies to the entire value chain, especially to R&D. That will reduce the time it takes to innovate and lower the rate of failure.
• Personalize the customer experience, backed up by data. That will improve your value proposition and benefit patients.
• Develop the talent you need to make your purpose a reality. Your team, the community and society-at-large will benefit.

A version of this article is published in IESE Business School Insight 158.