Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Next CEO? Start Planning Now

An article in Campaign, supplement to MINT dated 16 June 2006
by
Anjali Bansal
Consultant
Spencer Stuart, Mumbai Office


Important points made

Today succession planning is the shared responsibility of the CEO and the board, though it should ultimately fall squarely within Board's realm.

Succession planning is considered to be one of the highest priorities of the board, an in increasingly scrutinized by stakeholders as well as outsiders.

Tata group set up a governance council that made CEO succession its primary concern, as also the formation and evaluation of the board of directors of the company.

One of the most challenging tasks is specifying the cirteria the next CEO should meet.

One of the critical issues in succession planning is the handling of transition period, in emergency situations, where unexpected events result in the need for a new CEO.

One of the options is for a sitting board member to step in as a CEO on a temporary basis. Another approach adopted by some boards is to have an ex-CEO on the board who will take up the emergency responsibility till regular CEO is appointed.

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