From Collapse to Comeback—A Leadership Case Study for the Ages
Three years ago, Equinox Global, a Fortune 500 company once hailed as a manufacturing titan in industrial technology, teetered on the brink of collapse. The numbers were dire: four consecutive quarters of losses, a plunging stock price, internal layoffs, and an eroded brand reputation.
Today, Equinox Global is a model of resilience, innovation, and profitability, posting record revenues, tripling its share value, and earning a spot on Fortune’s 2025 Most Admired Companies. Behind that turnaround is Rachel Moore, the 47-year-old CEO whose no-nonsense leadership, bold strategy, and cultural overhaul saved the company from certain death.
“It wasn’t about making Equinox great again,” Moore says. “It was about making it matter again.”
The Fall: How Equinox Global Lost Its Edge
Founded in 1957, Equinox was a legacy leader in industrial automation, shipping parts and machinery to over 80 countries. But by 2021, it had become a cautionary tale of corporate stagnation:
- Failure to invest in digital transformation
- Poor integration of acquisitions
- Mounting debt from inefficient supply chains
- An aging leadership team out of step with a rapidly evolving market
Worse, an internal whistleblower report uncovered sustainability violations in overseas factories, triggering lawsuits, public backlash, and shareholder revolt.
By early 2022, analysts projected Equinox would fall out of the Fortune 500 altogether.
That’s when the board called Rachel Moore.
Enter Rachel Moore: The Reluctant Fixer
A Princeton-educated engineer with an MBA from the University of Chicago, Moore had built her reputation as a turnaround specialist—leading dramatic recoveries at two mid-cap industrial firms in the Midwest. She had spent time at McKinsey and GE before proving her mettle as a bold, data-driven, and fiercely ethical operator.
At first, she declined the Equinox offer.
“I didn’t want a vanity project. I wanted a mission,” she later said.
But after visiting multiple plants and speaking directly with laid-off workers, she saw potential. In June 2022, Moore stepped in as Equinox’s CEO—the first woman and person of color to ever hold the post in its 68-year history.
The Crisis Playbook: Stabilize, Restructure, Rebuild
Moore’s turnaround strategy followed a clear, ruthless cadence:
1. Radical Transparency
Within 30 days, Moore publicly disclosed the company’s financial and environmental liabilities—an unheard-of move in corporate circles.
“You can’t rebuild trust if you’re still hiding the rot,” she declared.
She issued a 120-day crisis report, unfiltered and filled with data, drawing respect from media, regulators, and skeptical investors.
2. Leadership Overhaul
She replaced 80% of Equinox’s senior leadership team within six months—bringing in technologists, sustainability experts, and supply chain innovators.
This included:
- A former NASA engineer as CTO
- A logistics expert from Amazon to lead operations
- A DEI strategist from the non-profit sector to overhaul hiring and culture
3. Operational Reinvention
Moore shut down or sold underperforming divisions and reinvested capital into:
- Digital twin technology for manufacturing
- Predictive maintenance powered by AI
- A zero-waste materials lifecycle pilot
Within one year, Equinox’s operational efficiency improved by 37%, saving the company nearly $480 million.
4. Workforce Reinvestment
She reinstated health benefits, created a profit-sharing program for factory workers, and launched a free upskilling initiative in robotics and digital tools.
Morale, once in freefall, began to rebound.
The Cultural Shift: From Bureaucracy to Boldness
Under Moore, Equinox underwent a cultural revolution.
Key changes included:
- Flattened hierarchies: Decision-making pushed closer to the ground floor
- Quarterly “Failure Forums”: Executives publicly shared failed bets and what they learned
- Open DMs: Every employee could message the CEO directly—no chain of command required
A former VP says, “Rachel didn’t just lead with data—she led with empathy. She walked the floors. She asked uncomfortable questions. She didn’t hide behind the boardroom.”
A Sustainability-Driven Strategy
Moore’s most radical move was repositioning Equinox from an industrial company to a climate-first tech enterprise. This wasn’t branding—it was execution.
- Closed-loop production systems launched in 2023
- Equinox’s flagship AI product, EcoAxon, now helps clients reduce emissions by tracking real-time energy use
- Moore introduced a carbon dividend program, returning savings from green operations to stakeholders
In 2024, Equinox became the first major U.S. industrial manufacturer to achieve verified Scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality.
The Comeback Metrics: Proof in the Performance
By Q2 of 2025, Equinox Global’s numbers tell a striking story:
- Revenue: Up 67% since 2022
- Market Cap: Rose from $4.2B to $11.9B
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Increased by 48 points
- Glassdoor Rating: Rose from 2.4 to 4.5 stars
- Talent Retention: Highest since 2008
Shareholders who once demanded Moore’s resignation are now backing a motion to extend her contract through 2030.
The Human Side: Leadership in the Trenches
Despite her executive stature, Moore remains a “hands-in” CEO. She spends one day a week visiting plants, holding small group talks with line workers, and shadowing engineers.
She continues to live in her modest Kansas City home, drives a hybrid sedan, and donates 20% of her bonus each year to workforce education initiatives.
“Leadership isn’t perks,” Moore says. “It’s responsibility. It’s sacrifice. It’s getting out of your office and into the engine room.”
Facing Forward: Equinox 2030 and Beyond
With a robust recovery behind her, Moore is now pushing Equinox into new territories:
- Smart grid tech partnerships with U.S. energy providers
- Expansion into modular green building systems
- Launching an internal incubator for employee-led climate tech startups
- A pending B-Corp certification to codify Equinox’s mission-driven future
In an era when CEOs are measured by market cap and charisma, Moore stands apart—for doing the hard, slow, systems-level work of transformation.
Conclusion: A Blueprint for 21st-Century Leadership
Rachel Moore didn’t just save Equinox—she transformed it. Her story is a case study in modern leadership: fact-based, future-focused, people-first. In an economy still reeling from disruption, Moore has proven that comebacks are possible when courage meets clarity.
“We weren’t too big to fail,” she says. “We were too important not to change.”