What happens to the corporate headquarters community when the CEO refuses to reside there? We're not sure, but it can't be good news.

The Wall Street Journal (5.22.06) profiled ConAgra Foods CEO Gary Rodkin long distance relationship with the company's home, Omaha. He commutes each week in a corporate jet from his home in Greenwich, CT. And Rodkin's not the only CEO living the long distance life. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide hired Steve Heyer who chose to remain in Atlanta rather than move to the home office in White Plains, NY, while NCR CEO William Nuti commutes as long as he can from his home on Long Island to Dayton, OH.

Of course, with our cell phones, blackberries and laptops running 24/7, mobility is easier than ever. But the uncalculated consequence may be on the headquarters' cities. If a CEO's family is not part of the community, if he/she is not there to attend the ballet or the NBA game on the weekends, what will the CEO's commitment be?

It is yet one more development that threatens the historic ties between major corporations and their communities.

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