Dive Brief:
- Nearly 60% of CEOs plan to replace a member of their senior leadership team within the next six months, with CFOs topping the list of executives targeted for a potential shake-up, Boston Consulting Group found in a survey released Wednesday.
- CFOs accounted for 16% of responses when CEOs were asked which senior leaders they planned to replace, ahead of chief operating officers, chief human resources officers and chief marketing officers, each at 12%.
- “Our research suggests a C-suite shake-up may be coming for many organizations,” the report said.
Dive Insight:
The potential shake-ups come as CEOs are navigating a more complex backdrop of slower growth, geopolitical disruption and technological change, according to a recent report from EY-Parthenon.
In BCG’s study, 60% of CEOs said near-term pressures consume a disproportionate share of their time, a 3-percentage-point increase from last year’s survey. Among leaders of the largest companies in the study, that figure rose to 68%.
More than half (54%) of respondents said they often feel pressure to prioritize near-term performance over long-term growth investments.
The velocity of change was a major source of stress, with more than 40% of CEOs ranking “moving too slowly to respond to changing market conditions” as their top concern.
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence in particular are reshaping how CEOs assess what they need from their top leaders, according to Julia Dhar, North America leader of BCG’s People and Organization Practice.
“CEOs are reassessing not just how their leaders are performing today, but what is required for strong performance tomorrow,” Dhar said via email.
When asked in the survey to explain why they were disappointed in their senior teams, CEOs pointed to capability gaps and competing agendas.
“My direct reports don’t have the skills to do their jobs,” one CEO wrote, according to the report. Another said, “Some C-level execs don’t play well with their peers without me holding them accountable.”
The survey included 645 CEOs at companies with at least $100 million in revenue. It was conducted from June 18 through July 5.
