Henry Kravis and George Roberts stepped aside as KKR co-chief executives last week, having created a private equity behemoth with more than $429bn of assets under management.

But the company has also delivered outstanding shareholder returns, achieving an annual average of more than 25 per cent in the 11 years it has been publicly listed. Had KKR been in the S&P 500 the billionaire cousins would have been in a small group scaling such heights, alongside just nine other CEOs including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Fabrizio Freda of Estee Lauder and MSCI’s Henry Fernandez.

With business leaders facing economic disruption, unsteady supply chains, scrutiny on pay and an increased focus on environmental, social and governance issues, delivering for shareholders has become a tricky balancing act.