PwC's "How the best boards approach CEO succession planning" supports with statistics and trends the need for board focus on CEO succession planning, and shares leading practices for boards to help facilitate a smooth CEO transition. Notably, clearly delineating who on the board owns the succession planning process and their roles and responsibilities - including as respects involving others, such as the incumbent CEO, in the process - is deemed critical to success.
As shown here, allocation of CEO succession planning among the board and its committees varies measurably by industry:
The significant difference in approach between Financial and Nonfinancial Services companies in particular is generally consistent with the 2016 Society/Deloitte Board Practices Report, wherein 56% of Nonfinancial Services respondents reported the full board having primary responsibility for the CEO succession planning process, compared to just 31% of Financial Services companies - regardless of company size. Importantly, there is no one-size-fits-all; rather, the chosen structure should be conducive to leading and facilitating the process with an appropriate level of - and process for - full board involvement.
The publication also suggests other trending topics that may be logically considered at the time of a succession event - including CEO-director overboarding, board leadership structure, and executive diversity.
Access additional information & resources on our CEO Succession, Board Practices, and Board Leadership pages. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!