11 CEO mishaps of 2023: From cage-fights to a digital detox during layoffs

Another year, another endless news cycle driven by the world's top corporate executives; while some CEOs seemed were indifferent or even relished the spotlight - Elon Musk chief among them - others were inadvertently thrust into social media's harsh glare. Here are some of the most high-profile management misadventures:

BILLIONAIRE CAGE MATCH BLUFF: In June, after Meta announced Threads, Musk challenged Mark Zuckerberg to what perhaps passes for a duel in 2023, posting on X: "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol." Zuckerberg, who practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, readily agreed. Musk advertised a showdown in Vegas in August, and then suggested it might actually be staged in the Colosseum in Rome. But Musk began making excuses as the summer weeks slid by, saying he might need surgery for his neck/back/shoulder. Zuckerberg eventually called his bluff, saying it was "time to move on."

ANOTHER ONE FROM MUSK: Of all the jaw-dropping Musk moments this year, the pinnacle came on stage at the New York Times DealBook Summit when he told advertisers that have stopped spending on X to go '[expletive]' themselves. "Hey Bob, if you're in the audience" he added, calling out Bob Iger, the CEO of Walt Disney Co. - one company among many that distanced itself from the platform after Musk's controversial tweets.

OPENAI'S ABOUT-FACE: The abrupt firing and rehiring of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman by the board played out over the course of a long weekend and much of it across social media. Between angry investors and employees, the board beat a hasty retreat. As rumors swirled that he might return, Altman posted a photo of himself at the San Francisco office wearing a guest badge: "first and last time i ever wear one of these."

THE VIEW FROM ACAPULCO: When Stellantis NV and UAW leadership met in August, Mark Stewart, the company's chief operating officer for North America wasn't physically present - he Zoomed in from Acapulco, Mexico, where he has a second home. That didn't go over well with workers who resented the executive's calls for employees to temper bargaining demands in the name of economic realism. Pro-union social media accounts later spread footage and photos of a sunglasses-wearing Stewart smiling by the beach. He made it to the next meeting in person.

LEAVE 'PITY CITY' BEHIND: A short video of office furniture maker MillerKnoll Inc. CEO Andi Owen chastising staff for fixating on end-of-year bonuses ricocheted around the internet in April. "Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need, and not thinking about what are you going to do if you don't get a bonus," Owen said in the video, referring to an internal metric. "I had an old boss who said to me one time, 'You can visit pity city, but you can't live there.' So people, leave pity city." Owen sent an email to staff and met with leaders across the company after the backlash, according to a person familiar with the situation.

MANAGEMENT'S MASSAGE TIME: In October, Tony Fernandes, co-founder of AirAsia and a top executive there, went to LinkedIn to post a picture of himself, shirtless, getting a massage while sitting at a conference room table. "Got to love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I can have a massage and do a management meeting," he wrote. Online followers quickly spoke out, with some commentators calling it inappropriate for an executive to indulge in bare-chested personal care while also purportedly running the company. Fernandes said he'd just endured an 18-hour flight and was in pain, and that the massage was a spontaneous suggestion by somebody in the Indonesia operation. He deleted the post while apologizing: "I didn't mean to offend anyone."

TRANSPARENCY: BP Plc CEO Bernard Looney resigned in September over the failure to fully disclose past relationships with colleagues, forfeiting as much as 32.4 million ($41.4 million) in pay. But then further allegations of a similar nature came to light, and Looney informed the company that he hadn't been fully transparent with the previous investigation, the company said. On his exit, Looney said in a statement he was "proud" of what he achieved as CEO, but was "disappointed with the way this situation has been handled." BP doesn't prohibit executive relationships, but requires private disclosures.

THE FLIGHT MUST GO ON: United Airlines Holdings Inc. canceled 751 flights on one day in June - more than any other airline - and its hub airport in Denver was among the hardest hit. But CEO Scott Kirby was able to bypass the congestion by taking a private jet to Denver from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey that day, prompting an apology. Kirby said in an emailed statement, "I sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working around-the-clock for several days - often through severe weather - to take care of our customers."

NOT PARTING WITH THAT PAYCHECK: Former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker refused to commit to giving up his $10 million pay after the bank collapsed in March. Though he took the brunt of the criticism, Becker told the Senate Banking Committee that unprecedented events, interest-rate hikes and negative social media coverage rather than mismanagement were the root causes of the firm's demise. Becker said he'd work with regulators to review compensation, but wouldn't pledge to give anything back.

THE HBO TROLL: Casey Bloys, CEO of HBO and Max content, apologized for using fake X accounts to troll TV critics who gave bad reviews to the network's shows, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. According to the Times, Bloys said his passion for his company's programming - and too much time on social media during the Covid-19 pandemic - led him to do it and he concluded it was "a very, very dumb idea." Bloys apologized to the journalists named in the article and said he now sends direct messages to those he disagrees with.

PRE-PINK SLIP DIGITAL DETOX: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says he took a 10-day trip to French Polynesia for a so-called digital detox ahead of the company's mass layoff of about 8,000 staff. A digital detox is when someone forgoes phones or computers for a period of time. Though he took responsibility for hiring too many people during COVID-19, Benioff appeared tone-deaf, arriving late to a meeting the day after the layoff, joking, "did I miss something?"