The 25th anniversary of 9/11 has renewed attention on the contrasting ways leaders responded to the worst terrorist attack in US history, from executives managing shattered organisations to individuals who ignored official instructions to lead colleagues to safety.
Jeff Immelt had been chief executive of General Electric for barely two days when the second aircraft struck the World Trade Centre. He was in Seattle preparing to address employees when he saw the impact on television.
With American airspace closed and reliable information scarce, Immelt spent the next three days working from a makeshift office. GE’s immediate priorities were basic but critical: contacting customers, reassuring staff, assessing damage and directing resources to those affected.
Two GE employees were killed in the attacks. Longer-term expansion plans and major transactions were put aside as the company concentrated on its people and its ability to function during an unprecedented national emergency.
Howard Lutnick faced the loss of his workforce
For Howard Lutnick, now the US commerce secretary, the crisis was personal. He was chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, whose offices occupied the upper floors of the North Tower, and lost his brother and hundreds of colleagues when the building collapsed.
Lutnick had arrived late that morning after taking his son to kindergarten. Cantor ultimately lost 658 of its New York-based employees, a devastating blow to a firm whose trading income had effectively disappeared.
The company nevertheless continued paying the families of those who had died. Its annual Charity Day, held to commemorate the attacks, now commits the day’s revenue to charitable causes. Cantor says its relief efforts have provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support since the fund was established shortly after 9/11.
Rick Rescorla’s evacuation plan saved thousands
Among the leaders whose preparation helped people survive was Rick Rescorla, Morgan Stanley’s head of security in the South Tower.
A Vietnam veteran, Rescorla had regarded the World Trade Centre as a likely terrorist target. After the 1993 bombing, he introduced regular evacuation drills and built a detailed plan for getting staff out quickly in a future attack.
When the North Tower was hit on September 11, 2001, Rescorla rejected instructions for people in the South Tower to remain at their desks. Using a bullhorn, he directed Morgan Stanley employees towards the stairwells and continued searching the building after many had escaped.
Morgan Stanley has said Rescorla’s procedures helped bring nearly 2,700 employees to safety. He was last seen returning into the tower and died when it collapsed.
The attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 countries, according to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Thousands more were exposed to toxic dust during the rescue and recovery operation, and the health effects have continued decades later.
The experience has left a lasting lesson about leadership in a crisis: decisive preparation matters, but so does the willingness to share responsibility for the suffering that follows. For the companies and families affected by 9/11, that burden did not end when the towers fell.
