Chief Executive Officers Recruitment

CEO Succession

A planned CEO departure gives the Board an opportunity to assess what the organisation will need from its next leader. This may involve considering internal successors alongside the external market and determining whether the future strategy requires a different leadership profile.

Starting this process early gives the Board greater choice and reduces the risk of making a critical appointment under time pressure.

Explore Succession Planning

Replacing an Underperforming CEO

Where a CEO is no longer delivering against the requirements of the business, the Board may need to explore external leadership options before making a change.

Performance concerns may relate to growth, operational delivery, strategy execution, leadership of the executive team or confidence among investors and other stakeholders.

Novo can conduct a confidential CEO search while an incumbent remains in position, allowing the Board to understand the external market and identify potential successors without creating unnecessary disruption.

Explore Replacing an Underperforming CEO

CEO Appointment Following Investment

Investment can significantly change what is required from the leadership team. A CEO who has successfully led a business to investment may not necessarily have experience of delivering the next stage of the value creation plan.

Private equity and other investor-backed businesses may require CEOs with experience of accelerating growth, professionalising operations, strengthening management teams, improving performance and preparing organisations for a future exit.

Explore CEO Private Equity Executive Search

Founder-to-CEO Transition

As founder-led businesses grow, the demands placed on the CEO can change considerably.

Greater organisational complexity, larger management teams, external investment, international expansion or more formal governance may require a different leadership structure. In some businesses, the founder remains CEO while strengthening the team around them. In others, appointing an external CEO becomes the right next step.

Executive search can help owners and Boards understand the available external leadership market and identify executives capable of taking the organisation through its next stage while respecting what has already made the business successful.

Growth and Transformation

Rapid growth, stalled performance or a major transformation programme can expose gaps in existing leadership capability. The organisation may need a CEO who has previously scaled a comparable business, entered new markets, led operational transformation, repositioned a company or built the leadership infrastructure required for greater complexity.

The search should therefore begin with what the next CEO needs to achieve rather than simply replicating the experience of the previous incumbent.

Interim CEO Leadership

Sometimes the organisation needs leadership before a permanent CEO can be appointed.

An unexpected departure, transformation programme, turnaround or confidential leadership change may require an experienced interim CEO who can assume responsibility quickly, provide stability and maintain momentum.

An interim appointment can also give the Board time to conduct a comprehensive permanent CEO search without allowing immediate operational pressures to compromise the long-term leadership decision.

Explore CEO Interim Management

International Growth or Expansion

Entering new markets or managing an increasingly international organisation can change the experience required from a CEO.

The Board may need a leader with experience of building international operations, managing teams across multiple markets, navigating different commercial environments or leading an organisation through international expansion.

Where the required experience is scarce in the domestic market, an international CEO search can significantly broaden the available leadership pool.

Explore CEO International Executive Search

• Improved Board, investor and stakeholder confidence
• Greater alignment across the leadership team
• Increased organisational stability
• Greater accountability and pace of delivery

The right CEO brings clarity to strategy and the leadership required to deliver it.

Reaching these leaders requires more than advertising a vacancy. It requires targeted market research, established relationships and the ability to present the opportunity with clarity and discretion.

Executive search gives Boards access to a broader leadership market, including experienced CEOs and senior executives who may not otherwise enter a recruitment process.

Assessment may include:

• Strategic judgement and decision-making
• Evidence of delivering comparable growth or transformation
• Commercial and financial capability
• Operational leadership
• Board and investor relationships
• Leadership team development
• Organisational and cultural leadership
• Experience within relevant ownership structures
• International experience where required
• Ability to lead through change and uncertainty

A CEO who has succeeded in one environment will not automatically be right for another. The search should therefore assess candidates against the future requirements of the organisation rather than simply previous job titles or company size.