Report: CEO Appointment Surge In The First Half 2021 Sets Stage For Future

A report by Heidrick and Struggles, an international executive search firm based in Chicago, found that CEO appointments in the first half of 2021 were the highest going back to 2018.

Looking at CEO appointments in 24 markets compared to previous appointments, CEOs are more likely to be women, from countries outside of a company’s headquarters, have cross-border experience, and have advanced degrees. These trends are good indicators of future CEO appointments in a post-pandemic world.

The report took 1,095 CEOs at the largest publicly listed companies as of July 5, 2021, including in the U.S., looking at how the pandemic affected CEO succession planning and how expectations may have changed from the previous appointments.

Trends of note are that there were more internal hires, and, though there was an increase in CEO appointments who are women, the number of women in leadership roles still pales when compared to men.

Another finding was an increase in CEOs appointed in the first half of 2021 who had earlier experience beyond chief financial officer (CFO) or chief operating officer (COO). The report notes that typically CEOs are hired when their experiences include CFO or COO, noted by trends seen within the last year, but that seems to have changed with appointments in the past six months.

CEOs appointed in this period also had experience in roles such as chief risk officer, chief strategy officer and chief technology officer. The head of division roles represented 41% of the newly appointed CEOs. The number of CFO to CEO appointments took a notable dip.

CEOs also now need a broad range of experience, beyond just the daily running of a business. They are in the spotlight, with their every decision scrutinized by the world. The report suggests that the push for fresh perspectives and diversity across companies comes from both internal pressure and laws about diversity and hiring in corporate environments.