CEO and Executive Succession

Build for the future. Develop leaders for the long term.

Ensuring a seamless transition of leadership
Effective CEO and executive succession planning is crucial for the long-term sustainability of any organization. Our experts work with boards and CEOs to design and implement a robust plan that identifies and prepares leaders for future roles and minimizes the risk associated with executive transitions. The focus is on developing a pipeline of “ready now” leaders with the skills and attributes that matter most for leaders of the future.

How Pearl Meyer helps

initiate a strategic cycle of executive talent succession.

Prepare

We help the board and CEO define the strategic context for future leadership, clarifying the CEO capabilities and experiences that will make a difference in driving future organization success.

Focus and plan

We empower boards and CEOs through a planned process to ensure all aspects of executive succession are addressed: emergency, near-term and longer-term.

Identify and develop

We help you identify and develop a diverse slate of CEO candidates by mining your organization’s talent bench. Our approach combines research-based tools with customized coaching, assessment, and development techniques.

Select and transition

We help you narrow the field that ultimately results in the selection of a new CEO and the management of a graceful and effective change in leadership. This includes supporting both new and current CEOs.

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“No two CEO succession situations are the same – but the most successful transitions are carefully planned and focused on the future needs of the organization.”

Susan Sandlund, PhD, Managing Director and Practice Leader, Pearl Meyer

Our Services

CEO Succession Planning

  • Future CEO profiling
  • Candidate assessment, coaching and development
  • On-boarding new CEO
  • CEO transition

Building Sustainable Leadership Pipelines

  • CEO-led enterprise leadership programs
  • High-potential leadership programs
Perspectives on Succession
massive radio transmitter tower against sunset

A New Lens on CEO Succession Planning

Webcast
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 | Chen / Park
Identify a CEO successor. It sounds like one of the board’s more straightforward duties, yet in practice, it is complex and multifaceted. When you weigh the consequences of getting it wrong, combined with the fact that even the most carefully executed succession plan introduces uncertainty, it’s clear this is one of the most strategic board deliberations.
CEO Succession Planning in the Media

Boards Strike Meeting Fees Amid Rising Workloads

Getting rid of meeting fees and funneling that money to annual cash or equity retainers takes "a lot of noise out of the system," said Ryan Hourihan, a managing director at Pearl Meyer. "It's not a takeaway, but more of a simplification [of] director compensation."

CEO Succession Flops Draw Greater Investor Scrutiny

“If shareholders are getting more interested in understanding the CEO succession process, it’s because they have seen failures, and it begs the question of how solid the process is at a given company, and how involved is the board?” said Susan Sandlund, managing director

Board Members See Weaknesses Among First-Time Directors

“No matter how much executive experience someone has, the thing they don’t have is the knowledge of the culture and the cadence of a particular board. You need a mentor or a buddy to pick that up,” said Jan Koors, senior managing director, Pearl Meyer.
We help boards and the c-suite implement a virtuous cycle of leadership development and succession planning.
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Compensation Consulting

We partner with you to create executive, director, and employee compensation programs that support your business strategy, market dynamics, and motivate and reward the talent required for long-term success.

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Survey and Governance Data

Pearl Meyer is a powerhouse of both survey and proxy data. Our survey team produces over 50 annual compensation surveys and our partner, Main Data Group, offers public company governance and compensation data.

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Explore Main Data Group
At Pearl Meyer, we work with boards and organizations to design and implement compensation and leadership strategies that build great management teams.
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