????科比?布魯克斯，貓頭鷹餐廳

????Coby Brooks, Hooters

????當科比?布魯克斯繼承這家以喜歡逗樂、著裝性感火爆的女招待聞名的連鎖餐廳時，它正在經歷一場頗具悲劇色彩的危機。他的父親羅伯特?布魯克斯剛剛過世（他是在1984年買下這家餐廳并將其變為全國性連鎖餐廳的）。老布魯克斯2006年過世后，將其股份的30%留給科比，30%留給小女兒，剩下的部分留給其他家庭成員和一些機構。不過，羅伯特的第二任妻子對自己那一份并不滿意。據稱，這份股權可以讓她在連續20年中每年獲得100萬美元。于是她就打起了官司，要求獲得公司額外控制權。這導致貓頭鷹餐廳（Hooters）陷入了圍繞所有權展開的三年苦戰。

????最后到了2009年，雙方終于達成協議，該協議迫使科比必須籌集資金才能保持公司正常運營。他并沒有停滯不前，而是把雞翅連鎖店賣給了一群投資者。科比隨后成了另一家“美胸餐廳”（breastaraunt）連鎖店——“雙峰”（Twin Peaks）的早期投資者，這家店在不到十年時間里在全美擴張至近60家分店。真是有其父必有其子。

????梅格?惠特曼，易趣公司

????When Coby Brooks took over as the head of the restaurant chain known for fun-loving, scantily clad waitresses, it was wrapped in tragedy. His father, who bought the restaurant in 1984 and turned it into a national chain, had just passed away. The elder-Brooks, Robert, died in 2006, leaving 30% to Coby, 30% to a younger daughter, and the rest to various family members and organizations. Robert’s second wife, however, was not pleased with her share, which was reportedly for $1 million a year for 20 years. So she sued for additional control of the company. This led Hooters down a three-year battle for ownership.

????Finally, in 2009, the two sides settled, but it forced the younger Brooks to raise funds to keep the company running. Instead of sticking around, he sold the chicken wing chain to a group of investors. Coby became an early investor in another “breastaraunt” chain, Twin Peaks, which has increased its foothold to nearly 60 locations across the country in less than 10 years. Like father, like son.

????Meg Whitman, eBay

????當梅格?惠特曼1998年加入易趣公司（eBay）時，這家電商拍賣網站還只是一家又小又怪的初創企業。為了制定戰略，它會召開全員大會，還會用上糖果罐。但這家公司在很短時間里就實現了迅猛增長，最終促使惠特曼下定決心加盟。她干得很棒。到2008年她離職時，易趣的銷售額已經猛增到逾80億美元，她也躋身全美最富有的女性之列。

????盡管她大獲成功，但投資者希望看到易趣能脫胎換骨。它斥資28億美元收購的網絡電話服務Skype一直就沒什么回報，同時亞馬遜公司（Amazon）的發展卻已開始影響到易趣的盈利能力。但真正的離職原因，可能僅僅是任職時間問題。惠特曼很早就說過，一個卓有成效的首席執行官的任期應限定為10年。她言出必行。

????惠特曼后來想投身政界，2010年謀求競選加州州長一職。不過她輸給了民主黨人杰瑞?布朗。

????最后惠特曼又進入惠普公司（Hewlett-Packard）擔當掌門。10月，她宣布這家科技巨頭將一分為二，自己將出任拆分后專注于企業技術的公司CEO，并兼任專注于消費者硬件的公司的董事長。

????When Meg Whitman joined eBay in 1998, the e-commerce auction site was just a small, quirky startup that used company-wide meetings and candy jars to determine its strategy. But it had grown significantly in a short period, convincing Whitman to join the firm. Good thing she did, as she grew the company to over $8 billion in sales by the time she left in 2008 as one of the richest women in America.

????Despite her success, investors wanted to see significant change at eBay EBAY 3.37% . A $2.8 billion purchase of Internet telephone service Skype never panned out, while Amazon’s growth began to affect eBay’s bottom line. But really, it was just time. Whitman had long said that 10 years was the term limit for an effective CEO. She stayed true to her word.

????Whitman decided to try her hand at politics, seeking the California governor’s seat in 2010. She lost to Democrat Jerry Brown.

????Whitman ultimately wound up running Hewlett-Packard HPQ 2.72% . In October, she announced that the tech giant would split into two, leaving her as the head of the corporate technology unit and chair of the consumer hardware business.