Chris Clarke, president and CEO of global executive search firm Boyden World
Corporation, expressed today the idea that situational succession planning to
promote better performance and lower executive turnover is invaluable.
"The increasing frequency of gaps in the CEO, Chairman and C-level executive
ranks means that succession planning is a vital activity," Clarke
said during a 10th annual governance and leadership conference today
at Henley Management College in London. "The consequences of
failure in the top two leadership roles can vary from a dramatic drop in market
capitalization to a disastrous collapse, as evidenced during the recent era of
corporate shame."
"The increasing frequency of gaps in the CEO, Chairman and C-level executive
ranks means that succession planning is a vital activity," Chris Clarke, Boyden World Corp.
Clarke also spoke about how Boyden's experience is that a change in chairman
or CEO positions may lead to a wave of other senior executive losses.
He also explained that evidence has shown that the hiring of outside
successors into companies has peaked, even though some outside leaders are
needed for certain situations, including the aftermath of a major corporate
scandal when it may be common to acquire a well-known and trusted figure, when a
need for drastic turnaround is present, or if the firm is moving into a
territory beyond its own experience like an IPO or new business area.
