CEO Performance

Shape a decade. Unlock high-end performance. Leading from the top is never routine.

RefineValue exclusively partners with CEOs and chairs during high-pressure periods — the first 18 months, activist scrutiny, complex mergers, deep restructurings or full-scale turnarounds. We never advise line operations, ensuring that our counsel is free of conflicts and focused on maximizing the CEO’s impact.

Our CEO Performance practice is backed by insights from hundreds of global CEO mandates. It blends rigorous 360° evaluations with actionable playbooks that

accelerate strategic decisions,
link short-term delivery to long-term value creation, and
keep investors, employees and boards fully engaged throughout the journey.

On average, our playbooks reduce CEO ramp-up time by 20 percent, increase EBITDA by five percentage points compared to peers, and elevate employee engagement scores by 10 points.¹

Set the pace. Lead the agenda. Win the competition.

CEO Transformation Support

Transform or fall behind. In large-scale change, pace and clarity decide outcomes. Ready to turn strategy into motion?

We work alongside the CEO to turn ambition into momentum. We start at the very beginning – as your sparring partner – to decide what to do, in what order and at what pace. We set the rhythm, align the top team, and get the first cycles moving-fast. When the engine runs, we hand over. No day-to-day ops. No project bureaucracy.

Typical engagements include M&A and carve-outs, enterprise-wide transformations, restructuring, portfolio value & capital allocation, and organic growth. In 6–12 weeks: faster decisions, more strategy time, sharper priorities.

Speed wins. Everything else costs. Turn challenges into momentum.

Are you leveraging your CEO performance for maximum impact? With no peers, immense pressure, and transparency at the highest level, the CEO role is unlike any other in a company.

With our expertise, your CEO’s tenure becomes a period of strategic advancement rather than a steep learning curve. Let’s ensure you not only survive the first 18 months but thrive, driving your organization to new heights. We partner with you to address the key factors, challenges, and pitfalls that contribute to your success as a CEO, whether you are seasoned or new to the role.

We help you navigate critical decisions, build and reset the C-suite, and prepare for key moments – media, sessions with the chair and board, and investor touchpoints – standing at your side in critical situations to keep momentum. Backed by decades of experience advising the CEOs of some of the world’s most respected organizations through periods of transition, we do more than help our CEO clients stay ahead — we support them 24/7 as they transform their industries.

Stay ambitious. Maximize impact. Turn your CEO tenure into a long-term success story.

CEO Transition Advisory

CEO Performance Review, Evaluation & Benchmarking

How will we measure CEO performance in the future? No incentive system alone can motivate your CEO to make better decisions. Performance reviews and robust evaluations are crucial defenses against profit warnings, high turnover in executive management, and loss of reputation.

Are lagging indicators such as financial results the right indicators in these changing times, or do you need leading indicators to better evaluate CEO performance? We develop and implement comprehensive CEO performance reviews and evaluations to enhance the effectiveness of your CEO performance early warning system. Our approach includes designing transparent evaluation processes that engage boards and CEOs to ensure buy-in and clarity. We define and optimize objectives, methods, and criteria for effective CEO evaluation linked to your corporate strategy, and benchmark CEO performance against industry standards, peer groups, and best practices. Additionally, we link evaluation results to CEO compensation strategies, succession plans, and development plans to drive deep cultural change in the organization through the example of the CEO.

Protect reputation. Drive organizational success.

Choosing the right leader? The one that will make – not break – your company’s future?

Every company goes through different cycles throughout its lifetime, and a different type of leader is needed for each one. A good succession strategy begins with a thorough evaluation of the company’s current stage, as well as its vision, strategy, structure, and culture. This evaluation defines the skills and criteria that really matter now.

The importance of strategic alignment and foresight in this pivotal decision cannot be overstated. Together, we will design a CEO succession plan aligned with your organization’s long-term goals.

Not A leader, THE right leader that makes the difference.

CEO Succession Strategy

CEO Compensation Design

Is your CEO compensation strategy driving performance? The impact of CEO performance on long-term value creation and business success is at an all-time high. There is increasing pressure from proxy advisors to make significant changes in CEO compensation strategies. We recognize that CEO compensation has become one of the most pressing issues for boards.

Simplifying and aligning CEO compensation with your company’s strategic vision is a key driver of long-term value creation and an opportunity to engage and build trust with your shareholders. Our approach centers on developing and optimizing compensation strategies that effectively translate your strategic vision into reality. While each client’s challenge in CEO compensation is unique, typical engagements include:

Align CEO compensation with corporate strategy and develop an integrated strategy-compensation process
Balancing short-term incentives “pay for performance” and long-term value creation “skin in the game”
Simplify complex CEO compensation structures
Evaluate and implement performance management systems
Bridging the gap between CEO performance and bonus payouts
Simplify performance metrics (targets and objectives)
Implementing forward-looking strategies for long-term bonus payouts
Developing CEO severance packages and retirement plans

We benchmark CEO compensation against industry standards and develop strategies that truly matter. By engaging stakeholders in the development process, we ensure buy-in and transparency. We design and structure compensation packages to align the interests of shareholders with those of the CEO. Our approach links performance metrics to the company’s overall strategies and goals, ensuring that CEOs focus on both short-term performance and long-term value creation. We also implement performance management systems to track progress and provide feedback.

Prepare to win. Set your compensation up for success.

Reflect. Learn. Perform. Repeat. We turn development into performance – measured in weeks, not years.

Crisis simulations: Board-ready rehearsals for hostile takeover bids, cyber extortion, liquidity stress, activist & proxy pressure, regulatory & antitrust scrutiny, and geopolitical shocks. We design and run realistic tabletop exercises, then deliver a 72-hour after-action review and a rigorous action plan.
CEO Performance Counsel: KPI-linked monthly sparring—set priorities, sharpen decisions, run two targeted experiments per quarter. Visible gains in 6–12 weeks; no coaching theatre.
We cut decision latency and raise clarity and investor and stakeholder readiness.

CEO Development & Continuous Learning

CEO Performance Insights

CEO performance: Are you on the path to excellence? RefineValue is one of the world’s leading independent CEO advisory firms. Explore our latest insights and research on CEO performance and CEO excellence. Discover new perspectives that will help you shape a decade of high-end performance.