•P r a i s e f o r I n s i d e C E O S u c c e s s i o n

“While Inside CEO Succession contains a very useful analysis of key steps boards can use to create a successful process, what I found to be invaluable were the examples of successful and failed succession pro-grams cited by the authors. Th ese stories illustrated topics that are rarely discussed in this context. Personal emotions, psychological challenges, organizational culture, and the critical partnership between the board and the CEO can all infl uence the succession process. Th ese insights, based on decades of experience on the part of authors Tom Saporito and Paul Winum, are the book’s greatest strength.”

—Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; named by Time

Magazine as one of the Top 100 most infl uential people in the world for 2012; director, McCormick

& Company, Baltimore Equitable Society, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

“Tom Saporito and Paul Winum’s new book on CEO succession is a treasure trove of practical advice and is a must-read for any company thinking about building a solid path to its future leadership. Th e book is richly detailed with solid research and real world examples and it off ers a compelling conceptual framework and step by step process for all aspects of CEO succession and transition. Given the importance of this topic and the shortage of literature in this fi eld, there’s no doubt that Tom and Paul’s groundbreaking book will become the standard reference for all Boards that are grappling with the question of CEO succession.”

—Chip Perry, president and CEO, AutoTrader.com

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“Inside CEO Succession is chock full of insights on a critical subject for today’s boards and executive teams. Tom Saporito and Paul Winum know that succession planning is more than simply a leadership transition. In this book, they capture its essence as a living, breathing, ongoing process which directly impacts corporate success and failure.”

—Paul Charron, chairman of the board, Campbell Soup Company; former CEO, Liz Claiborne Inc.

“Inside CEO Succession provides a unique, nuanced insight into psycho-logical and emotional aspects involved in succession that many boards fail to recognize. Particularly insightful are the authors’ emphases on the disci-plined process needed during pre- and post-selection transition, succession as a selection of CEO and senior team, and the importance of a board’s ability to evaluate leadership attributes required for changing future market and business. Th e book off ers practical steps to a successful CEO transition in an environment of economic uncertainty, regulation complexity, ever-quicken-ing technology shifts, and broadening groups of stakeholders.”

—Deven Sharma, former CEO, Standard and Poors

“Chief executive succession is more art than science, more a board mindset than a process. By clearly demonstrating why CEO succession needs to be more board-driven than CEO-driven, Tom Saporito and Paul Winum make an important contribution toward how companies can better manage this important transition.”

—Fred Hassan, managing director–healthcare, Warburg Pincus; chairman, Bausch and Lomb; former chairman and CEO,

Schering Plough; director, Time Warner and Avon

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“Choosing a CEO is a unique opportunity for a board to reset a company’s compass—to validate, alter or transform both its culture and its business strategy. A collaborative process between a board and a departing CEO who has been successful is indispensable to the process and the guidance provided by Inside CEO Succession should greatly facilitate that eff ort.”

—John J. Degnan, retired vice chairman and chief operating offi cer, Th e Chubb Corporation

“Inside CEO Succession does an exemplary job of distinguishing between succession planning in principle and in practice—where it matters. Th e authors clearly and compellingly provide a ‘cautionary tale’ as to why a robust planning process led by the board is a non-negotiable in terms of the board’s obligation to the fi rm’s multiple stakeholders and the long-term success of the company. If a board’s not spending meaningful time on succession planning—both the mechanics and dynamics—then the board is wasting its time.”

—Rick Lenny, former chairman and CEO, Th e Hershey Company; director, McDonalds,

ConAgra, and Discover Financial

“With investors beginning to realize—especially given the high- profi le CEO departures—that succession planning has become a strategic issue, leaders should welcome Tom Saporito and Paul Winum’s book, which off ers a practical, no-nonsense path for getting it right.”

—J.P. Donlon, editor in chief, Chief Executive Magazine

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“Having worked with RHR for many years and seeing them in action inside our companies, it is no surprise to me that Paul Winum and Tom Saporito have penned an outstanding guide for any director seeking insight into their most important job—ensuring consistent, strong leadership . Management teams and companies are constantly evolving and companies with great management over the long term don’t just get lucky, they carefully plan. Th is book covers the complete life cycle of leadership change and is a must-read for any director who aspires to embody board-level best practices.”

—Mark Jennings, managing partner and founder, Generation Partners; chairman of the board of

trustees, Post University; former director, Virtual Radiologic Corporation,

inVentiv Health, MedVance Institute, and Agility Recovery Solutions

“Saporito and Winum have written a straightforward, insightful and extremely valuable book that all boards and CEOs should read—and fol-low. Th eir collective professional experience and the nearly 70 years of RHR’s leadership in the fi eld of executive selection, development and eff ective-ness make this work the ‘gold standard’ for CEO succession. As they clearly articulate—and as the historical data supports—getting this wrong has signifi cant negative consequences for business and all of the stakeholders.”

—Ned Guillet, former senior vice president, Th e Gillette Company

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“Th e hallmark of successful CEO succession is to identify the challenges ahead for the corporation—how the operating and competitive environ-ments will change—and choose the right leader who has experience, knowledge and skills to lead the organization in that new environment. Inside CEO Succession provides the unique perspectives and experiences of Tom Saporito and Paul Winum, who have ‘walked the walk’ in this critical area of corporate leadership.”

—C. Manly Molpus, former president and CEO, Grocery Manufacturers Association; director,

SPAR Group; CPG advisory board, Procurian

“Tom Saporito and Paul Winum, two of the superlative senior con-sultants from the legendary RHR International consulting fi rm, have produced a comprehensive and understandable guide that makes the mysterious, dangerous, and challenging work of transition management possible for boards and leadership teams to do well together. It is full of terrifi c case material, specifi c advice about the necessary components of a corporate program, and practical wisdom for leaders and consultants. Succession management is an extraordinarily critical aspect of the work of corporate governance members. It is full of ambiguity, anxiety, and the constant threat of failure. Saporito, Winum, and the RHR methodology would help virtually every fi rm navigate these processes more successfully.”

—Richard R. Kilburg, Ph.D., author of Executive Coaching, Executive Wisdom, and Virtuous Leaders, among other

books and articles on leadership and management

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Copyright © 2012 by Th omas J. Saporito and Paul Winum

Published simultaneously by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey and John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Th e Winning Formula® is a registered trademark of RHR International.

Care has been taken to trace ownership of copyright material contained in this book. Th e publisher will gladly receive any information that will enable them to rectify any reference or credit line in subsequent editions.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Th omas J. Saporito Inside CEO succession : the essential guide to leadership transition / by Th omas J. Saporito and Paul Winum. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-118-20321-7 (cloth) 1. Executive succession. 2. Chief executive offi cers 3. Directors of corporations. 4. Executives—Selection and appointment. 5. Management. I. Winum, Paul II. Title.HD38.2.W563 2012658.4'0711--dc23 2012017198

978-1-118-21802-0 (ebk); 978-1-118-21801-3 (ebk); 978-1-118-21803-7 (ebk)

Production Credits Cover design: Adrian SoTypesetting: Th omson DigitalCover image: Th inkstockPrinter: Courier

Editorial CreditsExecutive editor: Don LoneyManaging editor: Alison MacleanProduction editor: Jeremy Hanson-Finger

Printed in the United States of America

2 3 4 5 COU 16 15 14 13 12

Author PhotosPhoto of Th omas J. Saporito: Paladino PhotographyPhoto of Paul Winum: Santa Barbara Photography

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Acknowledgments xiiiForeword: Douglas R. Conant, former CEO

of Campbell Soup Company xv

Introduction 1

Part I: Why CEO Succession Is More Critical than Ever 5

Chapter 1: From Checkers to 3-D Chess 7Chapter 2: Success or Failure—Th e Cause and Cost 21Chapter 3: Whose Job Is It, Anyway? 39Chapter 4: RHR’s Essential Point of View 55

Part II: Th e 10 Key Dimensions of Eff ective Succession 71

Chapter 5: Establish Board Ownership, Involvement, and Oversight 73

Chapter 6: Set Succession Time Frames 89Chapter 7: Prepare for Emergencies 105Chapter 8: Align on Strategy and Profi le 119Chapter 9: Build the Talent Pipeline 131Chapter 10: Source External Talent and

Manage Search Firms 145Chapter 11: Select the CEO 157Chapter 12: Proactively Manage the Transition 169Chapter 13: Measure Performance and Improve Process 187Chapter 14: Manage the Dynamics in CEO Succession 197

•C o n t e n t s

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xii C o n t e n t s

Epilogue: Perspectives on the Future 205Appendix: Ten Questions a Director Should Ask 213About RHR International 219References 221Index 229

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While one or two persons might have their names printed on the cover, the truth is that legions of people are involved in the publica-tion of a book from concept through distribution. Th is volume is no exception and we would like to acknowledge their eff orts. To name all of the individuals who have touched our careers and our practices would take more pages than reasonable. For that reason, we have taken the liberty of departing from the usual practice and have listed our contributors in groups, thereby ensuring that no one’s eff ort is slighted by omission.

First of all, the concepts in this book would never have been devel-oped without the clients of RHR International. Each and every CEO succession situation is unique, and working with a variety of CEOs, board members, senior teams and candidates in companies of all sizes have given the fi rm the opportunity to see the process unfold in many diff erent ways. Some were successful, some were not. It was these real life situations that allowed us to constantly refi ne our own model, applying the best practices of the time, but always modifying and evolving our views of what worked and what did not. It is the culmi-nation of all those years of practical experience with some very unique individuals that fi lls the following pages. We believe the fact that many of our earliest clients are still with us testifi es to the trust they have in us as advisors. Many of these relationships have evolved over the years from business associations into close personal friendships.

With the clients providing the challenges, it was the consultants of RHR International, past and present, who were called on to provide the solutions. Not only did they each have the experience, the busi-ness acumen and the training necessary to address CEO succession issues, each generation has had the invaluable ability to draw on the knowledge and wisdom of those who came before. Th is open melding of the minds in classrooms, offi ces, restaurants, airports and even the occasional golf course strengthens our practice with each and every

•A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

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xiv A c k n ow l e d g m e n t s

conversation. Wherever we are, we talk shop . . . a lot! And gems of knowledge are often uncovered in the most casual of settings. Yes, the discussions can get heated, but it is in the fi res of debate that the truth is revealed. While it is never billed back to a client, the consultants of RHR never stop observing, wondering, discussing and evolving our service areas. It has been this way since our founding approximately 70 years ago, and it is our fervent wish that it will always be so.

Th roughout the years, RHR International has built a reputation for groundbreaking research on our core service areas—backing up experience, observation and intuition with solid data. Some studies validated what we had come to believe, others challenged us to step back and take another look and purposefully move in a new direc-tion. Without the dedication of our research teams throughout the years, this vital conduit of knowledge and wisdom would have been lost to us. Equally important, if not more so, are the directors, chief executive offi cers and other senior executives who have given most generously of their most precious commodity—time. Th ey have con-tributed to the wealth of knowledge on management best practices by granting us interviews and answering the surveys that gave us the raw data for our studies. Without this gift, none of it—the research, the analysis, the creation of new intervention programs, the practical application to the benefi t of organizations worldwide—would have been possible.

In the last three years, we have compiled the latest information gathered from and by the groups listed above. Th e result is this book. We believe it is the state-of-the-art resource for those organizations that could benefi t from a grounding in the most up to date informa-tion on CEO succession possible. Is it the Bible on the topic? Of course not: each business is unique, each past and future chief execu-tive will have behaviors and abilities that must be assessed and evalu-ated in light of the organization’s current needs and strategic goals. However, thanks to the dedication and eff orts of RHR International’s clients, consultants, researchers and study participants, you are unlikely to fi nd a more comprehensive work on the topic of CEO succession on bookshelves today.

We deeply appreciate all the eff orts of our fellow contributors, even if there was no room on the cover for your names.

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