Due to the vast number of countries that have been affected, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about a devastating global financial crisis. This commentary considers the ongoing COVID-19 recession, its global economic impact, the responses from governments, future projections, business and governance lessons learned so far, as well as future research prospects. In doing so, two key questions are considered: what can we draw from this unprecedented ongoing crisis so as not to experience the same scale of pandemic and recession in the future? What did we do wrong and what can be changed for good to reshape our businesses and economies? The author aims to provide key takeaways for resilient and sustainable organizations, corporate governance, and compensation systems.