It’s true that just about every major CEO appointment comes with a press release talking about ‘change management’ and ‘new imperatives’ – but there is an increasing trend for boards to be not just more demanding of CEO candidates, but more wide-ranging in their ask. And that can mean that internal candidates aka the ‘safe pair of hands’ will have to demonstrate some new skills to measure up against external ones who naturally tend to assume that their key value is in bringing a new perspective.
Of course, not all boards are seeking change, and stability is key to success in an increasingly fragmenting business landscape but board requirements are changing.
So what are boards looking for when they begin the search for a new CEO?
Strategic thinking – and geopolitical nous
We’re undoubtedly in a time of increasing geopolitical tension, including tariff impositions, exclusionary practices, visa and work permit controls and enforcement of regulatory frameworks at a previously unseen level. The shorthand for this is ‘protectionism’ but actually classic protectionism is hardly possible in our globalised world, and a CEO has to navigate with competition for raw materials, whilst also negotiating with political players about policy implementation. Just in the last few weeks, tariff threats, impositions and flip-flops have created levels of market volatility that are stoked by social media protests. Retail organisations have experienced consumer boycotts in a way that hasn’t been seen since the 1960s – a period of market turmoil and intense awareness of consumer power.
Boards are looking for CEOs who can interpret rhetoric and see where it may lead to policy – and whether that policy will be implementable and/or consistent. Jump too fast and lose market advantage, jump too late and risk being locked out of markets and territories, don’t jump at all and be castigated in the business press and sometimes social media for failure to recognise and respond to change. ‘Nous’, that indefinable ability to react both appropriately and in a timely fashion, is hard to transmit through organisations, where agility still tends to lag behind our current volatile geopolitical experiences. However, in a leader, it’s an absolute necessity in times of intense change. And change is both internal and external at present – see our next point about AI, and a CEO needs to demonstrate the ability to inform and engage both workforce and customers in the process of organisational adaptation.
The ability to ride the AI rollercoaster
CEOs are not cowboys, but the AI transformation has been more like a rodeo than anybody expected! Digital transformation is vital, but many organisations are finding it illusory. The failure rate on digital operations is above 80%, and in a recent wide-ranging study, the reasons for failure are made clear. One is the failure of leadership readiness, which was described as an attempt doomed to failure akin to “changing the wheel of a moving vehicle”. [1]
So, given this high failure rate, and the fact that three quarters of CEOs think that Generative AI will reshape their company’s values in the next half-decade, boards are facing a potentially calamitous gap that their CEO will be required to straddle.
Part of the problem is that boards may not be ideally placed to examine digital leadership potential. Much of AI development is driven by poor understanding of the field – large language models have great capacity, but businesses may lack the ability to make use of that ability. Genuine innovation in AI is relatively rare, many AI ‘capabilities’ turn out to be un- or counterproductive fairly quickly. MacDonald’s had a reputation-damaging AI fail in 2024 after three years of attempted implementation, for example, which may have been the result of over early adoption of a product into the wrong market.[2]
CEO shortfalls: emotional intelligence allied to pragmatic decision-making
Everybody knows that CEOs have to be decisive, but the new parameter is that boards want decisive CEOs with emotional intelligence. The World Economic Forum said earlier in 2025 that widening social and political divisions require a CEO to become a ‘Unifier in Chief’ for their organisation. And this is not without its perils. Rallying a workforce is important, but what you rally your workforce around can, in itself be divisive. Globalised organisations have to find universal themes that incorporate both values – and value. Growth is essential, but inclusive environments can be seen as focusing on non-growth elements of the organisation.
The old ‘greed is good’ model has also broken down too; talent – these days – wants to be allied to a higher goal, and demonstrating company ethics, alongside clear strategies for market growth, requires a level of emotional intelligence (EQ). The World Economic Forum at least, believes this EQ is not innate in CEOs. They claim that CEOs, on average, have the lowest EQ scores in the workplace[3] which makes it even more challenging for boards who are looking for improvement in this area. And of course, it’s entirely possible for any CEO to increase their EQ.
An example of emotional intelligence might be Kelly Ortberg, who who came out of retirement to take the reins at Boeing in August 2024. Just this month, he told employees at a company-wide meeting that the Boeing needs a more open culture, to break down insularity. Claiming the company doesn’t ‘communicate across boundaries’ he wants to create a culture where employees are encouraged to speak up and communicate across divisions.[4]
Champions of diversity – within complex parameters
We know that ESG and DEI are under pressure politically – especially, but not uniquely, in the USA. But regardless of this, both global regulatory regimes and social awareness of ESG fails are growing. There’s a recognition at board level that CEOs who can take ESG/DEI into organisational strategy are likely to succeed better than those who are still working with compliance. Two reasons for this:
- Stakeholder trust is cemented by good ESG and DEI – and stakeholders are increasingly vocal on social media
- Profitability is now multifactorial; the bottom line is still king, but the king has many consorts including public perception, stakeholder engagement (especially pension funds) and media scrutiny – as the current Tesla furore demonstrates.
However … rolling back DEI in particular is a contentious issue. Finding the balance between maintaining commitment to ESG/DEI and working within the parameters that are presently being very publicly and politically established in the USA requires tact. A prime example? JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon who reaffirmed his bank’s commitment to reaching out to diverse communities, including Black, Hispanic, LGBTQ and veteran populations, although he does say that labels like “DEI” and “ESG,” oversimplify complicated situations. [5]
Working out the CEO wish-list in reality
Uncertainty underpins the current global economic outlook – not gloom, but simple inability to predict. The next CEOs will need to be able to cope with uncertainty, work confidently within it and to communicate their decisions persuasively both inside and outside their organisations. And this may be why there’s been a shift in CEO appointments. In 2024 44% of new CEOs appointed came from outside the company, a 12% increase on external appointments from 2023.[6]
We can expect the near future CEO to balance a number of key qualities, not just excel in a couple. Above all, we are unlikely to see many more really stand-out CEOs who are technical specialists – boards are looking for superb generalists. Search panels are increasing looking for qualities, not qualifications, and balance is top of the quality list they are seeking.
Sources
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324000328
[2] https://www.verdict.co.uk/explainer-is-macdonalds-ai-roll-out-failure-a-lesson-to-companies-jumping-on-the-ai-bandwagon/?cf-view
[3] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/07/ceo-have-low-emotional-intelligence-why/
[4] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/5-dynamics-that-will-shape-the-ceo-agenda-2025/
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2025/01/23/jpmorgans-jamie-dimon-stands-firm-amid-conservative-pressure-to-dismantle-dei-initiatives/
[6] https://fortune.com/2025/02/27/external-ceos-promotion-appointment/?tpcc=NL_Marketing
