Barclays CEO on the leadership lessons he learned from his cancer diagnosis

C. S. Venkatakrishnan's experience of cancer has taught him some valuable lessons about leadership and how companies should think about succession planning
Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer C.s. Venkatakrishnan Interview

In November, Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan shocked the business world when he revealed his cancer diagnosis. In a regulatory filing, the company said he would be undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma that was expected to last between 12 and 16 weeks, but that the prognosis was "excellent".

Four months later, Venkatakrishnan confirmed that his treatment had been successful and he was now in remission. And it has not taken long for him to return to the hectic travel schedule demanded of the chief executive of a FTSE 100 company with a presence in more than 50 countries.

“I am easing into the global CEO's travel schedule,” Venkatakrishnan said, speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit earlier today (24 May). “I’m taking fewer, but longer, trips.”