First-time CEO’s, eBay's Donahoe, T. Rowe Price's Kennedy, Blue Nile's Irvine, and Molson Coors' Swinburn were tested on the most unstable business battlefield in decades. While the Great Recession was hard on just about everyone, rookie CEO’s were faced with what will likely be the biggest crisis of their careers. Employees, investors, and board members looked to them for direction, but their task was complicated by swooning stock prices and, often, mass layoffs.