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The Chief Executive Officer is the individual tasked with leading the company.
Paving the way, thinking ahead, placing the company within its industry and ensuring that it’s shipshape and ready to take on its competitors. It’s a tough role, but for those who have the ability to multitask to the nth degree and immerse themselves in the culture of the company, the rewards can be colossal. This is why, in most companies, the CEO position is often the most coveted.
But times change, and whereas once the historic CEO may have helmed the wheel of a company for decades – think Warren Buffett, Richard Branson and Bill Gates – now the average tenure of a CEO has shrunk to just five years, according to a recent Harvard study. In-fact, staffing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas states that a massive 1,332 CEOs have stepped down this year alone. Why? Because in the modern business climate, the position is far more volatile than its been in decades - especially for those tasked with fending off the advancing oblivion of the retail market.
Leadership | Why CEO's are getting into trouble
The personal and professional lives of modern CEOs are much like those of their celebrity counterparts. Every move they make is not only closely watched, reported on and debated in the public forum, but it’s also weighed against the market share of their company and intrinsically viewed in the same light. It also puts the company themselves under pressure as the CEO is very much the face of that brand.
