Thought Leadership | CEO Search

CEO performance has been redefined by rising expectations and growing complexity. To show this transformation, Egon Zehnder profiled six exceptional CEOs who are working through these challenges.

Survey of nearly 1,000 global CEOs reveals recent social and economic challenges drove unprecedented levels of self-reflection and development – changing CEO perspectives and the leadership role.

Utilities companies have been led through massive disruption due to several factors including the burgeoning demand to power AI data centers. As a result of accelerated demand, market forces are causing utilities to move from a slow-planned, regulated, rate-based environment to one of competition amongst IPPs and “behind the meter” solutions.

What it will take to thrive and to succeed in the evolving energy environment will differ a lot from what has been required in the past. Irrespective of the business strategy adopted, a fundamentally new approach to leadership will be required.

Plastics circularity is becoming a game changer for the chemicals sector and being marketed as the optimal strategy for single-use plastics from huge brands like PepsiCo, Unilever and Colgate Palmolive.

As modern leadership challenges grow more complex, the remixing of the C-suite isn’t just inevitable — it’s essential. We must look beyond legacy titles and focus instead on the capabilities, mindsets, and collaboration required to lead today’s organizations.

The preference of headhunters for senior professionals is a key argument for their value in the new labor market, which values experience, contacts, and strategic thinking or perspectives.

The most overlooked step in CEO recruitment is stakeholder management, write Egon Zehnder's Heather O'Keefe and Jason Hecker in this article.

Having worked on a substantive amount of CEO successions over the years, we strongly believe that this process should be made more organic and less crushing, where runners up can actively turn their experiences into knowledge and enlightenment as future leaders. This starts by creating a thoughtfully conceived process with careful attention to the thorough development plans for all the contenders.

Effective leadership teams are crucial for organizational success. Misalignment among leaders can pose significant risks. Our survey of over 75 CEOs and Business Unit Heads in Spain, Italy, and Portugal analyzed team dynamics across six key factors: Alignment, Balance, Energy, Resilience, Openness, and Efficiency. Discover how these elements drive top performance.

Master the succession planning process with our expert guide. Learn how to develop future leaders, avoid common pitfalls, and ensure smooth leadership transitions.

Explore expert-led succession planning best practices to future-proof your organization. Learn how to assess, develop, and retain leadership talent at every level.