Page 127 - Ray Dalio - Principles

CHAPTER 7

MY LAST YEAR AND MY GREATEST

CHALLENGE:

2016–2017

While even before that fortieth anniversary we had all been
aware that our transition wasn’t going as smoothly as we’d

hoped, in the months that followed our problems came to a
head in ways that caught us off guard. While the investment
part of Bridgewater was better than ever, other parts of the
business, like the technology and recruiting areas, were
slipping.

I was no longer CEO, so it was not my job to manage the

company. As chairman, my job was to oversee the CEOs, to
make sure that they were managing it well. And Greg Jensen
and Eileen Murray, the CEOs at the time, were clearly
overstretched. We all agreed that the company wasn’t being
managed adequately, but we disagreed on what to do about it.
Disagreements like these were expected, as we always want
everyone to think independently and argue for what they view

as best. That is why we have principles and processes for
resolving them.

So, over a period of several weeks, we exchanged our
views. Then key parties presented their perspectives and
recommendations to members of our Management Committee
and our Stakeholders Committee (which is essentially the
Bridgewater board), who considered the alternative paths and

ultimately voted on them. The most important decision that
came out of that process was announced in March 2016: Greg
would step out of his co-CEO role so that he could focus all
his attention on his co-chief investment officer role (which he
handled with Bob Prince and me), and I would temporarily
join Eileen as co-CEO while we implemented the structural

changes needed to allow Bridgewater to work well without
me.