Fortune Brands bet on a single headquarters to unify its business. Instead, it lost talent, destroyed morale, and saw its CEO depart before the plan was complete.
In January 2025, Fortune Brands Innovations announced it was moving its company’s portfolio from individual offices across the country to one central headquarters outside Chicago, which meant hundreds of employees would need to relocate, or else lose their jobs. The move would take place in a phased approach beginning at the end of the summer, then-CEO Nicholas Fink told employees.
