Kilberry

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This year has been unlike any other in my career. After 11 years building Kilberry, the company was acquired by Russell Reynolds Associates at the end of July. Since then, the team and I have been hard at work focused on two things: (a) delivering on client needs; and (b) integration. On the former, I am so thankful to our incredible clients for continuing to entrust us as advisors on their most important leadership matters. On the integration, it has been unbelievably rewarding...and also complicated. Layering onto a global firm with a rich culture, scaled systems, and new services (to us) has been hard work. I want to take this moment to acknowledge the extraordinary people at RRA. Wow, this is an amazing organization, totally committed to 'improving the way the world is led'. To a person, the RRA team is absolutely top notch and I am honored to work with them. I am also so thankful that the Kilberry team has been flexible, insightful, spirited, and completely engaged in making this a huge success. True professionals and very special people indeed. As the year winds down, I want to express how good I am feeling about what we've all done and where we are headed, together. I am looking forward to an amazing 2024, with all kinds of exciting things ahead (including that book I've been talking about!). For now, though, time to exhale a bit. Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.

When are firms less likely to be attacked by competitors after a CEO succession? ⬇ Using a sample of S&P 500 firms between 2010-2018, recent research has found that following a succession event, a firm receives - 40% fewer attacks when the difference between the two CEOs’ backgrounds is one standard deviation below the sample mean - 62% fewer attacks when the successor is an insider Much of the CEO succession discussion centres on minimizing risks internal to the organization—top team turnover, workflow changes, etc. This research highlights that competitors are aware of the implications of these disruptions, patiently waiting to exploit unprepared firms and freshly minted CEOs For the research by Eric Lee and Wenpin Tsai: https://lnkd.in/g5mn6p6x #CEO #Succession #Governance

Being a CEO isn't about being perfect, it's about being effective ⬇ For the difference and what this means for CEO succession: https://lnkd.in/gbYGgKvV #CEO #Succession #Leadership #Coaching

Gender diversity in the top team predicts firm performance ⬇ Leveraging statistical methods from economics, leadership researchers have recently quantified the causal influence that top team gender diversity has on firm performance with greater confidence Using a 24-year sample of over 1,000 S&P 1500 firms, they find that gender diversity in the top team predicts firm profitability (ROA), liquidity (cash ROA), and growth (sales), but not market performance (shareholder returns) These results are economically significant: In a top team of six, replacing one male with a female leader (increasing gender diversity by 16.67%) increases a firm’s - Net income by 483M USD - Cash flow by 866M USD - Sales growth by 4.84% For the research by Jost Sieweke, Denefa Bostandzic, and Dr. Svenja-Marie Smolinski: https://lnkd.in/grBqHEMV #CSuite #Diversity #Leadership #WomenInLeadership

The antithesis of the CEO Effect ⬇ A National Bureau of Economic Research study titled, “CEO Stress, Aging, and Death," found that: 1. Antitakeover laws increased CEOs’ lifespan by 2 years 2. Industry-wide downturns decreased CEOs’ lifespan by 1.5 years 3. Stresses of the Great Recession between 2007–2008 visibly aged CEOs by an additional year over the next decade Leaders: take care of your health For a summary of the research by Mark Borgschulte, Marius Guenzel, Canyao Liu, and Ulrike Malmendier: https://lnkd.in/grKig9xe Image shared with permission from NBER #CEO #Health #Boards #Governance

The CEO Effect beyond financial outcomes. What do you think of 11.5% now? https://lnkd.in/gX_9CAdZ #CEO #Performance #Leadership

The CEO effect ⬇ CEOs do not inherit blank slates. The unique impact they have on firm performance needs to – 1) be contextualized against various industry and firm influences and 2) consider the momentum of these effects rippling across several years Recent advancements in statistical methodology have allowed researchers to tease apart these multiple effects, finding that the variance in firm performance—measured as return on assets—attributable to CEOs is 11.5%, using a 23-year sample of 5,000+ CEOs in 2,400+ companies across nearly 200 industries Certainly, grooming and selecting the right person for the top job has a material effect on firms. However, don’t forget – 1) that CEOs’ influence extends beyond financial outcomes and 2) the reciprocal impact that the top job has on incumbent CEOs For the research by Mikko Rönkkö, Pardeep Maheshwaree, and Jens Schmidt: https://lnkd.in/eBZKcC9G #CEO #Performance #Leadership

Why a 360 should be part of any personality assessment

CEO as visionary leader, CFO as corporate conscience ⬇ Sociable CEOs lead more financially leveraged firms. A 20-year sample of CEO-CFO pairs of S&P 1500 firms reveals that prudent CFOs effectively complement sociable CEOs’ strategic decisions—reducing leverage when CEOs are more sociable and increasing leverage when CEOs are less sociable Leaders: how well do you know yourself, your team, and how you work together? For the research by Joseph Harrison and Shavin Malhotra: https://lnkd.in/gwvTHB3B #CEO #CFO #Personality