Situation
A well-known international consumer products company faced major questions regarding leadership succession at both the CEO and senior executive level. The Board directed the incumbent CEO to initiate on-going succession planning discussions with the Board to 1.) ensure an adequate "bench" of internal candidates for CEO and other key senior executive positions and 2.) enable Board members to develop an independent perspective on the top candidates for the respective positions.
Solution
Beeson Consulting led an initiative in conjunction with the Chairman, CEO, and Board to design and launch a framework for senior executive succession planning and Board-level reviews. The effort began with a series of interviews designed to specify the forward-looking requirements of four senior executive positions including CEO. The resulting profiles were used as a starting point in the identification of both internal and external candidates as well as development of the top internal candidates. Beeson Consulting worked with the incumbent CEO to prepare for a succession planning review with the Board and also facilitated the initial Board review discussions.
Impact
The resulting Board-level succession planning reviews were used to drive several important actions: 1.) promotion of one of the internal candidates to a key executive position as part of a corporate restructuring, 2.) initiation of targeted external recruiting designed to strengthen the executive "bench," 3.) aggressive career development for several individuals whose progress is monitored by the CEO and the Board oversight committee on an annual basis, and 4.) planned activities designed to foster greater knowledge of the top candidates by Board members.
