CEO Search and Succession

CEO search and succession planning is of paramount importance to companies and is one of the most pivotal decision you face as a director. Our task is to help you identify and develop the best executives to lead your organization and boost performance. We get them up to speed. We set them up for success. And we make it easy for directors and owners to do it all again next time. Our approach ensures that, at the crucial time, companies are prepared for a successful and stable transition in the CEO role—because in the end, the right leaders in the right places determine the success of a company. What is needed are personalities who combine strategic strength, multicultural sensitivity, and charisma to set the pace, drive performance and lead organizations forward. In this process, companies go through different phases in which different types of leadership are required to succeed. That’s why we use our most experienced consultants in every CEO succession process, bring in the expertise of our entire consulting firm, and work with boards and owners to select a new CEO for the unique task. Leveraging our proven processes, we support our clients in identifying and promoting internal successors for the company’s management and, if required, use our expertise and network to find the most suitable external candidates in an effective and discreet manner.

CEO Search

When searching for external candidates for the CEO position, the challenge—in addition to the high importance for the company and the impact of the decision on the motivation of internal candidates—lies in the unique and particularly demanding requirements in terms of skills, competencies, and the candidate’s personality. The search process always begins with an intensive exchange of views on corporate strategy, culture, and the current situation. We take the time to get to know you, your board, and your game plans. We listen carefully, question and internalize the information to create an exact candidate profile for the CEO search and find the best personality for the chief executive leadership role. The goal is to identify leaders who are as distinctive as the organizations they serve. To do this, we have built an extensive and rich network of relationships with top talent around the world to identify the best executives to lead your organization forward.

Globalization, digital and green transformation, an increasingly volatile world, shareholders clamoring for action and challenging multi-stakeholder constellations are just a few of the challenges a CEO faces today. We take into account local regulations and laws on corporate governance and use robust assessments to primarily behaviorally challenge the candidate’s work style and attitude, as we are convinced that this says more about personality than professional or technical skills. In this way, we succeed in attracting leaders who are in line with strategic goals and complete the existing executive board team.

CEO Selection Process

CEO Integration

Our goal is a board that functions so perfectly that it works efficiently and thus proves to be a strategic asset and competitive advantage for the company. To achieve this goal, we support companies in the integration and onboarding of the new CEO, because especially in the initial phase, success depends very much on integration into a new environment. To achieve this goal, we have developed a smart process that uses all-round monitoring in the first year to identify undesirable developments at an early stage and propose recommendations for action. In addition, we involve other senior managers in the company at an early stage in the integration of the new CEO and develop an onboarding strategy if required.

Optimally, the search for a new CEO is long-term and professionally managed. The challenge in CEO succession planning is a forward-looking recruitment coupled with the targeted and individual development and retention of talented leaders. Together, this ensures constantly having an outstanding candidate available to fill the CEO role. With our roadmap for CEO succession planning, three years before the departure of the current CEO, you will receive a comprehensive overview of the competencies of leaders in other relevant companies who could potentially be considered as successors. Two years before the current CEO leaves, potential candidates should then be appointed to the management body or entrusted with corresponding tasks. This significantly increases the options, alternative courses of action, and reduces the risk of an orderly transition. We involve experienced top executives from your company in the entire succession planning process. The more systematic this involvement and the entire process are, the greater the alternative courses of action and the greater the acceptance of the decision within the company.

CEO Succession Planning

Our Expertise

Our CEO succession solutions span from long-term succession planning, through the identification and selection of internal and external candidates, to the subsequent onboarding of a new CEO—thus providing a smart 360-degree process for the most pivotal decision for a board of directors. Our consultants support boards of directors and owners in making these decisions along the whole way, enabling you to make active and informed decisions and not leave them to chance.