Professional CEOs are a species in extinction. Who tries it does not repeat

“CEO is sought for a large company. Leadership capacity is valued and being able to work under pressure. Salary above the average.” If vacancies for the positions of the executive director of the large companies will be announced Like the rest of the positionsthey would probably be something similar to this.

However, there are less and less “ceos to serir”, as they defined them In an article of The Wall Street Journal Two decades ago, referring to a lineage of executive directors capable of Change company Every four years, and even sector. The important thing is to direct. What does not matter so much.

Ceos for everything. There was a time when the executive directors jumped from one company to another every four or five years. It was almost a mythical figure in the halls of global capitalism. These leaders, known as CEO in seriesthey were sought to lead deep transformations, implement aggressive cuts or save drifting companies. However, that figure is running out of generational relief.

However, there are still some managers that fit into the classification of CEOs in series. Names like Luca de Meowho was head of Fiat and Alfa Romeo before becoming CEO of Renault, and is now emerging to lead the transformation of Kering, luxury fashion holding that markets marks such as Gucci, Balenciaga or Boucheron. Brian Niccolcurrent CEO of Starbucks, which had previously directed Chipotle and Taco Bell.

Be CEO. Instead, such and as he points out he Financial Timesthe predominant model is the “One and Done”, in which many executive directors choose to occupy that position only once in their career, exhausted by pressure, extreme public exposure and wear that implies exercising the leadership of a large company today. The CEO of a British company quoted in the stock market reflected this feeling by declaring the Financial Times: “After this work, I will have finished. It is very rewarding, but it leaves you exhausted. I will never occupy the position of executive director ever again.”

According to data From Russell Reynolds, in 2024 there were 220 changes in the dome of large companies in the main 13 global markets. Of these, in 187 cases (85%) were appointments of people who assumed the position of CEO for the first time. This phenomenon has accelerated since 2018 and highlights a substantial change in the criteria of choice of new CEO.

As Laura Sanderson, director at Russell Reynolds, explains, “the decline of the CEO in series probably reflects the nature of the current position. It is high pressure, high risk and is very exposed. The path to a retirement with the intact reputation is complicated and, for many leaders, a single experience like CEO is sufficient.”

Chiefs of the quarry. Given the shortage of profiles experienced in the direction of large companies, many companies have begun to invest in their internal talent quarries. He Ascent from other high positions of management as directors of operations, financial directors or area leaders has become a usual formula to ensure a less traumatic relief because Who ascends already knows the company.

However, it is no longer enough to know the company and the sector in which it moves, but as it summarizes A study From Miltown Partners and The Chief of Staff Association, “today’s leaders have become executive directors who do everything, everywhere and at the same time.” The position now also requires other skills that the quarry managers cannot always offer: the advance of AI, the constant pressure of the shareholders, the political and cultural atmosphere. Any phrase out of place can become A reputational crisis for the company and even at a real risk for the manager, which can become target of attacks as was the case of the executive director of United Healthcare

More difficult, more salary. The increase in the requirement of responsibility for executive directors has also been accompanied by A salary increase equivalent. He Average salary of the CEOs Of the large US companies reached 30.9 million dollars in 2024, which means “more than one fifth part of the average salary of 2023”, according to Indicates the study Made by Equila and Associated Press.

However, neither money nor The extraordinary benefits have managed to stop the Trend to abandonment of the management positions. It is increasingly common for candidates to reject these positions if other companies have already directed before or if the conditions seem especially demanding.

Power wears. Faced with this continuous stress situation suffered by the company’s first representative, a new form of early retirement is being imposed: that of the “portfolio race”.

With this new modality, the Executive takes a step to the side as a visible face of the company, but remain linked to it taking advantage of its experience as an advisor or defending the interests of the company participating in the board of directors of third parties. An example would be Noel Quinn, who, after a prolific Race at the head of the Swiss Bank HSBChe decided to retire in 2024: “Now is the right time to achieve a better balance between my personal and business life,” explained after Assume the presidency of the Swiss bank Julius Baer.

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Image | Wikimedia Commons (Alejandro Migl), Flickr (ACC District), Unspash (Pablo Varela)