In times of economic turmoil CEO succession planning is more important than ever, reports Stefan Stern in the
Financial Times. But Egon Zehnder International's latest annual International
Executive Panel survey of over 800 senior executives worldwide suggests that many companies neglect succession planning or have an overly complacent attitude towards it. According to the survey results, a third of participants believe that their company has a well-documented succession planning process in place and the majority revisit their plan periodically to ensure its strategic relevance. "People do like to think they have a succession plan in place," explains
Andrew Roscoe, Egon Zehnder International, London. "But it may not always be the case. And when they say that they 'revisit' the plan regularly, they may just mean that they flick through it from time to time," he adds. In Roscoe's view, the post-crisis shortage of top talent may force more firms to develop leaders internally in the future.
