With accelerated digital transformation, war in Europe, talent shortages, supply chain challenges and ESG all part of the agenda, the current CEO doesn’t need to look far for challenges. With the VUCA market becoming the norm, does the Future CEO need to equip themself with new skills and do boards need to start thinking differently when appointing their next CEO?
In partnership with EY UK, Livingston James Group carried out a research project to investigate the future CEO. We surveyed and interviewed over 120 leaders across all sectors and functions in the Scottish market to identify what they believe will be the most important characteristics of the CEO of the future. What have we uncovered? In essence, the traditional playbook has evolved. The qualities that led to CEO success in the past are no longer adequate. The environment in which CEOs operate is undergoing a fundamental shift, rendering some traditional leadership approaches obsolete. This impacts what CEOs need to accomplish, how they go about it, and what essential characteristics are required for success in this new era.
To gauge what the Future CEO may look like, we explored the thoughts of current CEOs on what was keeping them awake at night, and what their opinions on the key characteristics of the Future CEO. We asked them to consider perceived challenges to delivering their strategy, which skillsets they believed to be most important, and who they felt would be best suited to take on the Future CEO role from their current team of functional heads/directors.
We also asked the same questions to Non-Executive Directors and functional leaders to gain more insight into what they thought was most important in the make-up of the Future CEO. We explored if they were personally in line for CEO succession, and if not, who they believed was best suited. As advisors to many Board and C-suite professionals, we also spoke directly to leaders in our network, complementing this with our event series where we brought together leaders from all sectors and job functions to debate the survey results.
We asked these business leaders the following six questions:
What is keeping CEOs awake?
What are the key priorities moving forward?
What are the challenges future CEOs will have when executing their strategy?
What do you think are the key personal attributes CEOs will need to succeed in the future?
What do you believe will be the most important focuses and characteristics for the role of the future CEO?
Succession planning – who’s in line for the top job?
If you would like the answers to the above questions, please reach out to the Livingston James team to request the full copy of the Future CEO Report – [email protected].
Can we help?
If you are looking for leadership advisory or recruitment support, please get in touch with our team of experts.
Having celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2024, Right There remains dedicated to providing tailored support to individuals in their homes and communities. As part of the organisation’s strategic growth and commitment to delivering the highest-quality support, three new Head of Service roles have been created. These positions will bring expertise, strategic direction, and capacity to ensure Right There’s programmes thrive.
Hillhouse Estates Limited is a family-owned business based in Troon, Ayrshire, with business interests across Quarrying, Farming, Property, Hospitality and Renewables, with collective revenues in the region of £100 million per annum. Reporting to the Chairman, Andrew Vernon, the CFO will be responsible for the financial leadership of Hillhouse Estates and all other associated companies.
Livingston James is delighted to be partnered with Thistle Seafoods to appoint their new CFO. Thistle Seafoods has been providing innovative, frozen & chilled seafood products for nearly 70 years. They are one of the largest family owned manufacturers of quality seafood products in Europe, supplying outstanding products at every price point to leading retail and food service customers within the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Australia.
Investigating the Future CEO
With accelerated digital transformation, war in Europe, talent shortages, supply chain challenges and ESG all part of the agenda, the current CEO doesn’t need to look far for challenges. With the VUCA market becoming the norm, does the Future CEO need to equip themself with new skills and do boards need to start thinking differently when appointing their next CEO?
In partnership with EY UK, Livingston James Group carried out a research project to investigate the future CEO. We surveyed and interviewed over 120 leaders across all sectors and functions in the Scottish market to identify what they believe will be the most important characteristics of the CEO of the future. What have we uncovered? In essence, the traditional playbook has evolved. The qualities that led to CEO success in the past are no longer adequate. The environment in which CEOs operate is undergoing a fundamental shift, rendering some traditional leadership approaches obsolete. This impacts what CEOs need to accomplish, how they go about it, and what essential characteristics are required for success in this new era.
To gauge what the Future CEO may look like, we explored the thoughts of current CEOs on what was keeping them awake at night, and what their opinions on the key characteristics of the Future CEO. We asked them to consider perceived challenges to delivering their strategy, which skillsets they believed to be most important, and who they felt would be best suited to take on the Future CEO role from their current team of functional heads/directors.
We also asked the same questions to Non-Executive Directors and functional leaders to gain more insight into what they thought was most important in the make-up of the Future CEO. We explored if they were personally in line for CEO succession, and if not, who they believed was best suited. As advisors to many Board and C-suite professionals, we also spoke directly to leaders in our network, complementing this with our event series where we brought together leaders from all sectors and job functions to debate the survey results.
We asked these business leaders the following six questions:
If you would like the answers to the above questions, please reach out to the Livingston James team to request the full copy of the Future CEO Report – [email protected].
Can we help?
If you are looking for leadership advisory or recruitment support, please get in touch with our team of experts.
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Livingston James is delighted to be partnered with Thistle Seafoods to appoint their new CFO. Thistle Seafoods has been providing innovative, frozen & chilled seafood products for nearly 70 years. They are one of the largest family owned manufacturers of quality seafood products in Europe, supplying outstanding products at every price point to leading retail and food service customers within the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Australia.