CEO succession planning continues to not be a priority that boards act on. Our work has long shown us that was the case, but we were still surprised at how few CEOs and board members said in a 2024 survey that it “is a top priority and treated as such”—only 28%.¹

Our new survey found the same: Only 26% of respondents overall report that CEO succession is among their top priorities and treated as such. These leaders tend to see CEO succession as an individual and collective responsibility. They often think that both the current CEO and stakeholders demand it. And more than half say it is continuously on their agenda.

Another third of CEOs and board members say CEO succession planning is a top priority but is often overlooked given other priorities. Most often, these boards expect the current CEO to manage their succession in the background, while the board deals with other matters; some add that the board lacks motivation to address it. They also often say that their stakeholders are less interested in CEO succession than other topics.

These companies are most often small, or private.

View the second chart by clicking the right-pointing arrow.

Reference

¹ See Jeremy Hanson, “CEO and board confidence monitor: Beating the succession planning paradox,” Heidrick & Struggles, October 30, 2024, heidrick.com.