When Japan Airlines slashed employee pay in 2009, CEO Haruka Nishimatsu cut his own salary to about $90,000, rode the city bus to work, ate in the staff cafeteria and removed his office walls so employees could walk in

Corporate leaders are often associated with executive perks like private offices, luxury cars, and multimillion-dollar salaries. However, during a global financial crisis in 2009, Japan Airlines (JAL) took a different approach under then-president and CEO Haruka Nishimatsu. In 2009, when the company faced mounting financial losses and company-wide salary cuts, Nishimatsu reduced his own annual pay to about $90,000, commuted to the office using public transport, ate lunch at the employee cafeteria and even removed walls surrounding his office so staff members could approach him freely. His actions were documented in a CBS News interview at the time and have since become a widely cited example of servant leadership in corporate adversity.

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