“Our results are going to be seriously impacted,” Mr. Sharp says. “Now is the time that management skills will be tested.” (Illustration by New York Times) — Photo by nytimes.com

ISADORE SHARP had a different coda in mind for the twilight of his career. The 77-year-old founder and C.E.O. of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, he was looking forward to some time with his wife, sons and grandchildren. A meticulous planner, he was carefully plotting his exit, and in 2007 he engineered the sale of the company, which manages more than 80 luxury hotels around the world, to two of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Prince Walid bin Talal, a nephew of the king of Saudi Arabia.

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