A
lot has been discussed and written about how a company
plans for its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This is
because the company's prospects will totally depend
on how the CEO fulfills his responsibilities. Choosing
a CEO is indeed a tough challenge for any company because
the successor needs to be capable of making the right
decisions. Succession planning for CEOs is an issue
which is widely discussed in any company across the
globe, irrespective of the industry in which the company
operates. It is, in fact, a Herculean task to pick the
right CEO for any company. This is a strategic issue
that requires the company's top management, board and
others to spend sufficient time and attention on a continual
basis. Also, it is important that the succession planning
process is planned and executed in a phased manner,
resulting in positive outcomes for both the new CEO
and the company.
Succession
planning is not a task which CEOs are used to. The way
succession planning is carried out in a company shows
how much influence the CEO has on the whole process.
CEOs of companies are not always willing to make their
way for the successors. Seldom does it happen that CEOs
show interest in grooming and training their successors.
There are several instances where CEOs of top companies
in the world have been forced to make way for someone
else to the hot seat. The best example is Sanford Weill,
former chief of Citigroup Inc., who at 70, was not prepared
to make way for someone else to replace him until the
board forced him to resign and appointed Charles Prince
as the CEO. |
