Introduction

If you are reading this book as a newly announced or appointed CEO, congratulations!

You are about to embark on something that only a very small percentage of the population ever gets to experience-to lead an organization and all of the people who call it theirs.

Perhaps you're already in the role. Perhaps you're getting ready to start. It may be your first time being a CEO. It may be your third. But whatever your circumstances, this is a time of great celebration.

This moment is about recognizing years of hard work and ambition (and, I'm sure, a fair bit of sacrifice along the way). It's a time when you are at your most energized to execute your vision of a brighter future for your organization. And, of course, for you and your family, too.

Enjoy this feeling. You've earned it. And the reality is that you'll need to keep returning to this place when times get tough. Commonly, that is a when, not an if.

Much of what they say about the CEO role is true: it's complex, confusing, and often exhausting. This is the most challenging and loneliest role in business (just how lonely is often what takes CEOs by surprise). The scope, gravity, responsibility, accountability, and exposure of the CEO role are unparalleled.

I probably don't need to remind you that, as CEO, you're not only responsible for your organization's strategy, but also for its financial viability, and long-term sustainability. You're also responsible for the livelihood of its employees (and their families), and in many cases, your suppliers and partners (and their families, too).

You have no doubt read that CEO turnover is at an all-time high. Our research shows CEOs across the S&P 500 and FTSE 350 lasted an average of 7.6 years in their role in 2022, compared to 9.2 years in 2018.1 And you're no doubt familiar with the numerous stories of CEOs who didn't make it past the two-year mark at organizations like HSBC, Procter & Gamble, Apple, Boeing, and Hewlett-Packard.

If CEOs fail, especially early in their tenure, the consequences can be vast. When Fiona Hick, the CEO of Fortescue Metals, one of Australia's largest companies, stepped down after six months in the role, it immediately wiped off 4% of the share price (approximately $1.5 billion at the time).2

The tremendous amount of pressure and enormous responsibility is why so many people don't seek the role, and are happy to stay as a key contributor to someone else's strategic vision-and that's fine. We can't all be in charge.

If the responsibility of the role scares you, that's normal. If it didn't, I would be concerned.

The trick is to now walk the tightrope over the complex web of feelings and experiences you'll inevitably face as a new CEO, nimbly stepping between decisiveness, confidence, self-awareness, and empathy to execute your vision and unlock the most life-affirming move of your career.

Why I Wrote This Book

As cliché as it will sound . because people told me I should.

I have one of the best jobs. As a leadership advisor and global lead for the CEO & Executive Transition practice at Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA), my job is to guide CEOs the world over through their first 12-18 months in their new role. Sometimes I'm their coach; sometimes, their cheerleader. Often, I'm their venting partner. More often, I am their challenger and sounding board. I am always their trusted advisor.

The work I do-and the stories I'm privy to-is a true privilege. Having the opportunity to gain a backstage pass to so many CEO transitions, talking with leaders who are at the top of their game at a time when they're at their most vulnerable, has given me a unique vantage point into the good, bad, and ugly of CEO transitions. That's what I aim to share in this book.

Why? Because for all the attention given to CEOs, there is very little advice on how to actually land well in the early days and set yourself up for success. Walk past any airport bookstore and you'll find countless books about what it means to be a leader or a CEO, or how to nail your first 90 days as a general executive. What you won't find is a book that specifically covers the challenge you face now: the CEO transition (a period that, for the purpose of the book, covers your first 12-18 months in the role).

Successfully navigating your first weeks and months as CEO sets the tone for how you'll be perceived for years to come. Yet, until now, few CEOs have shared their stories on what worked, what didn't, and what they wish they'd done differently.

For years, I'd entertained the idea of writing a book to compile the rich experiences I'd gleaned advising CEOs in transition. It wasn't until one of my CEO clients stressed the point so emphatically that I was kick-started into action.

We'd been working together for a little over 14 months, navigating everything from an organizational restructure to a significant business sale. It had turned out to be a very challenging first year as CEO, and through the process, we'd developed a relationship that was honest, trusting, and at times, frank.

As we finished up our last session together, he said, "The way you have supported and challenged my thinking, added insights and examples at just the right time, and on more than a couple of occasions, told me I was flat out wrong has been invaluable. You should share all of this in a book."

I'd heard this a few times already over the years and told him so.

He waited all of 0.05 seconds and said in slightly richer language: "So, get off your backside and do it."

So, I did.

What You'll Find in This Book

This book is a combination of CEO experiences, observations, and research. It is written to give you a wide and disparate view of the transition from the perspectives of the CEOs who have done it before you and from my perspective as an advisor, having worked intimately with 50-plus CEOs across the world to ensure their success in real time.

Over the following pages, you will find the rich stories-warts and all-of global CEOs who have successfully managed their transitions-and who have graciously agreed to be featured in this book. CEOs like Whirlpool's Marc Bitzer, who shared the memorable piece of advice he'd received early on that "you'll have 10 really bad days as CEO-you just don't know when they happen." Or Carol Tomé, the CEO of UPS, who said as CEO you stand at the crossroads of multiple contradictions. "You rarely get a clean shot at things. More often, you face a paradox, or a series of decisions and judgment calls where you are picking the 'least worst option.'" Or André Lacroix, CEO of Intertek, who told me that "there are very few leaders who can really improvise on the spot effectively, so the rest of us have to be very well prepared."

To supplement this experience, and solve for any confirmation bias I may have, I also completed detailed interviews with 35 CEOs across public, private, and private equity (PE) organizations in 2023. A concerted effort was made to ensure these interviews were a mix of internal and external appointments, from a range of industry sectors (13), and with backgrounds across seven functional disciplines. A third of the CEOs I spoke with were women. All CEOs were interviewed between 12 and 18 months in the role, so they had both the benefit of currency and hindsight. Interviewing them at such a critical juncture in their respective CEO journeys forced them to truly reflect on their approach, actions, and decisions during their transitions, and most importantly, answer off the cuff. These are some of the unnamed stories you will read in the book. We also surveyed almost 200 CEOs globally about their experiences transitioning into the role.

When I think about how to summarize a CEO transition, the mental picture that often comes to mind is a parachutist flying through a tight canyon. Parachuting is not like driving a car. When you toggle left and right in a parachute, it doesn't create an instant or neat reaction. It creates a pendulum effect-and you need to work hard to keep adjusting to find the right momentum. This, to me, feels like the most apt description of what it means to be a CEO in transition. A constant process of fine-tuning to avoid hitting the walls, until you finally emerge in open skies, where you can really perform and deliver.

The nature of CEO transitions makes it hard to have a one-size-fits-all, clear, repeatable roadmap for success. Instead, what I do with clients (and what I aim to replicate in this book) is work through the key expectations, decisions, challenges, risks, and opportunities that commonly arise.

I have distilled this into 10 components that, in my experience, make for a successful CEO transition (see Figure I.1).

FIGURE I.1 CEO transition success, Russell Reynolds Associates, 2024.

These 10 components inform the chapters that follow. While the ideas are presented linearly, the reality is that some clearly overlap, and others may resolve only to return again. My recommendation is to read the book from start to finish to get a feel for the learnings in their entirety, and then dip in and out to refresh on certain sections as challenges arise during your transition....