Egon Zehnder hosted an intimate roundtable discussion on the impact of Amazon’s second headquarters, with a focus on the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region (DMV). The event brought together fourteen regional business leaders and several members of Egon Zehnder’s digital practice for a thought-provoking discussion on the potential opportunities and threats Amazon HQ2 presents to the region.

For 30 years, Egon Zehnder has been in the business of assessing leaders along two broad dimensions: potential and competence. One key conclusion? You can’t have either without curiosity. Although we have found that high potentials also need insight, engagement, and determination, curiosity—defined as a penchant for seeking new experiences, knowledge, and feedback and an openness to change—is perhaps most important.

Lisa Blais, Egon Zehnder's co-leader of the US Board Practice, discusses how boards can attract the top C-suite talent.

Most CEOs are grappling with one particular challenge, irrespective of industry or geography: getting the right leadership talent. Governments face this challenge too. The Indian government has responded to this challenge by taking the initiative to invite executives from beyond the ranks of the civil service to apply for certain Joint Secretary posts.

For Leaders & Daughters 2018, we hosted 32 panel and roundtable conversations around the world. We have now brought together almost 6,000 attendees to share experiences, perspectives, and—importantly—solutions. Through both intimate and large-scale events, we used this year’s theme—Mind The Gap—to look closely at why senior-level women so rarely make it into the C-Suite, and to share examples of success.

As the first generation of middle-market private equity leaders nears retirement, many firms are struggling with how to move forward with succession planning, even when faced with increasing pressure from their limited partners.

According to an Egon Zehnder survey of 402 CEOs from 11 countries, 68% of company chiefs said that they weren't fully prepared for their role as CEO. As new CEOs adjust to their roles, HR leaders can educate them on the value of human capital management (HCM) and how strategies for hiring, training and development, compensation and other HR functions line up with organizational goals.

Dick Patton talks to NPR about the importance of mindset preparation and the role of boards in helping CEOs succeed.

Many chemical enterprises have implemented pilot programs as a way of taking the first steps toward digital transformation. But the conversations we have with boards and CEOs, combined with our own observations in the field, suggest that pilot programs rarely lead to transformation in the chemical industry.

Chinese businesses are aggressively expanding into Southeast seeking new markets and investment opportunities, ranging from mining, consumer goods, electronics, real estate to digital services.