I just became the new CEO of a privately-owned company and was informed by the owner on my first day, that she's changed her mind and that the COO (a long time, loyal employee) would continue to report directly to her but not to me as would ordinarily be the case in most companies. This just occurred yesterday.
The COO is responsible for Customer Service and Supply Chain (Purchasing, Warehousing, Shipping).
It just doesn't seem reasonable not to have the COO reporting directly to me as CEO. I like the company and hope to accomplish big things in the pursuit of profitable growth. But, "How can I make this unusual reporting structure work"? I'm open to considering all ideas...before I have to quit.
