- More new CEOs have C-suite experience beyond traditional
CFO and COO roles, with Chief Risk Officers, Chief Strategy
Officers and Chief Technology Officers making inroads to the top
job
- Share of women CEOs appointed globally doubled to 13% in
first half of 2021
- Ethnic and racial diversity among CEOs in Fortune 100
companies still low
CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies in
the first half of 2021 appointed a record number of CEOs, making up
for a significant slowdown in the second half of
2020, according to the 2021 Route to the Top report from
Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ: HSII), a premier
provider of executive search, leadership assessment and
development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture
shaping services globally. The global report also shows that
compared to their predecessors, new CEOs are more likely to be
women (11%), to be from countries other than where the company is
headquartered (30%) and to have cross-border experience (46%).
"The appointments in early 2021 provide a first-look at the CEOs
that will lead in a post-pandemic era," said Jeff Sanders, vice chairman and co-managing
Partner of the global CEO & Board of Directors Practice,
Heidrick & Struggles. "The top job, like so many others, has
been altered by the rapid changes that have taken place over the
last 18 months. We are seeing companies start to look beyond the
traditional ranks of CFO and COO when looking for their next CEO.
In fact, we saw the proportion of new CEOs who held other C-suite
roles more than double in the first half of this year compared to
the same period last year, revealing that boards and organizations
are taking a more expansive view in their CEO succession
planning."
The annual study of CEO placements provides an analysis of the
profiles of the 1,095 CEOs at the largest publicly listed companies
in 24 markets as of July 5, 2021.
Included in the report's data are companies from Australia and New
Zealand, Belgium,
Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong
Kong, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the first time, the
report also analyzed the race and ethnicity of Fortune 100 CEOs in
the United States and found: 4%
are Asian, 4% are Hispanic/Latinx, 3% are Black and 1% are Middle
Eastern or North African.
Additional findings from the global Route to the Top 2021
report include:
- Nearly one-third of CEOs with previous C-suite experience
appointed globally in the first half of 2021 (32%) came from a role
other than CEO, CFO, COO
-
- 12% of the CEOs appointed were formerly risk, strategy or
technology chiefs, up from 3% during the first half of 2020
- Only 18% had previous CFO experience, down from 24% during the
same time in 2020
- Progress toward gender equity surged forward after last
year's pause
-
- The share of women appointed to CEO roles had dipped to 6% in
the second half of 2020, and rose to 13% – more than double – in
the first half of 2021
- Despite the increase in women appointed to the corner office,
women make up only 6% of CEOs globally today
- 62% of appointments were internal during the first half of
2021, up from 53% of appointments during the same period in
2020
-
- When looking at appointments from the start of 2020 through the
middle of 2021, women accounted for 11% of new CEOs hired
internally, but made up only 7% of external hires
- Globally, the profile of CEOs in 2021 show
-
- They were 49 years old at the time of appointment, and 25% were
appointed before age 45
- Average tenure of 6.6 years
- Ireland has the greatest share
of women CEOs (14%), followed by the U.S. (12%) and Singapore (11%); Canada, Italy
and Mexico tied for the lowest
share (0%)
- Companies in Hong Kong have
the greatest preference for non-national CEOs (76%) while
China has the lowest (2%)
- Switzerland CEOs have the greatest share of cross-border
experience (74%) while China has
the lowest (10%)
- Sweden has the highest
percentage of CEOs with cross-sector experience (45%) while CEOs in
the United Arab Emirates have the
lowest share (12%)
"As the global corporate environment continues to evolve to a
greater stakeholder view, a change is also happening for the CEO,"
said Bonnie Gwin, vice chairman and
co-managing Partner of the global CEO & Board of Directors
Practice, Heidrick & Struggles. "CEOs are quickly becoming the
standard-bearer for a wide-range of issues from cybersecurity,
sustainability, social justice and diversity, equity and inclusion,
to inspiring employees and navigating rapid digital and societal
transformation. These changes are requiring a new CEO profile that
brings a wide and differing range of experiences in life and
business to the role."
About the Route to the Top
2021 report
The annual Route to the Top
2021 report provides an analysis of the profiles of the 1,095
CEOs at the largest publicly listed companies in the following 24
markets: Australia and New
Zealand, Belgium,
Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong
Kong, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The analysis has been
conducted as of July 5, 2021.
About Heidrick & Struggles
Heidrick &
Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) is a premier provider of global leadership
advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving the senior-level
talent and consulting needs of the world's top organizations. In
our role as trusted leadership advisors, we partner with our
clients to develop future-ready leaders and organizations, bringing
together our services and offerings in executive search, diversity
and inclusion, leadership assessment and development, organization
and team acceleration, culture shaping and on-demand, independent
talent solutions. Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the profession
of executive search more than 65 years ago. Today, the firm
provides integrated talent and human capital solutions to help our
clients change the world, one leadership team at a
time.® www.heidrick.com
Media Contacts
Heidrick & Struggles
Nina Chang
nchang@heidrick.com
M Booth
John McLaughlin
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