CEO Succession

Boards and their companies spend millions annually on independent advice. Yet when it comes to CEO succession planning — that is, deciding whom to pay, not how much — many of these same boards and their sitting CEOs decline to invest in benchmarking internal CEO candidates against external talent. Based on our experience working with boards of leading companies, we believe it’s a mistake not to. A board that forgoes benchmarking is, in effect, conducting succession with blinders on, unable to see or judge talent that is not immediately in front of them.

Changing a CEO is one of the most critical decisions for any organisation. Egon Zehnder International regularly advises boards on this complex decision making process and supports boards in making the right choice. We have learnt that the success of a CEO succession – whether an external or internal candidate is chosen – is closely linked to the effort that goes into planning for the event, often several years ahead and supporting the change after the appointment is made.