Stanton Chase
Leadership Q&A
How do you plan for your leaders' succession?

How do you plan for your leaders' succession?

Video cover

Leadership transitions make or break companies. Stanton Chase is one of the best firms in the world for making sure yours goes well

Most boards do not think about succession until they need it, and by then they are scrambling to find replacements, promoting people who are not ready, or hiring external candidates who do not fit. 54% of boards groom CEO successors, which means 46% are left without a plan when the transition actually happens.

When companies are serious about getting succession planning right, they come to Stanton Chase. We have one of the best reputations in the industry for helping boards plan C-suite succession before it becomes an emergency, across more than 45 countries and over more than three decades.

54%

of boards groom CEO successors, leaving 46% scrambling when transition happens. Succession planning prevents this

Source: CEO Succession Preparation

$1T

average shareholder value destroyed in poorly planned CEO and C-suite transitions in the S&P1500 every year. Strategic succession planning protects this value

Source: Cost of Failed Succession

39%

of companies have no internal CEO candidates ready. Comprehensive succession planning builds the bench before you need it

Source: CEO Succession Readiness

What Our Managing Partners Say

Pilar Brogeras
"In the best successions I have watched, there was rarely an obvious heir apparent. They worked because the board looked past the comfortable pick and built a real bench well ahead of time. We bring the 3As framework, ability, aspiration and agility, so judgment rests on evidence rather than who feels familiar."

Pilar Brogeras, Managing Director

Stanton Chase [City]

Jozef Papp
"In my work in Prague and with clients worldwide, I have found succession planning protects more than operational continuity, reaching into culture, informal networks and client relationships. Without it, companies promote high performers when they should be developing high potentials, and boards lose the chance to align leadership with where the organization is heading."

Jozef Papp, Managing Director

Stanton Chase Prague

Panos
"Across the markets I work in, succession planning is still treated as an event rather than a discipline. Boards start the process only when a departure is already looming, by which point the options have narrowed. The companies that handle transitions best build their leadership bench steadily, long before anyone needs it."

Panos, Managing Director

Stanton Chase [City]

Questions we help you answer

How do I create a succession plan for my CEO and other C-suite roles?

Because most companies confuse succession planning with naming backup candidates. They put a few names in a presentation once a year and call it done. Then when the CEO actually leaves they discover their backups are not ready, do not want the job, or have already left. Real C-suite succession planning means developing leaders years before you need them and being honest about whether they are actually ready.

It also means planning beyond the CEO. When your CFO retires or your COO leaves, do you have someone ready? Most companies do not.

How do I identify which of my current leaders have the potential to step up?

Both, at the same time. Companies that promise the top job to an internal candidate who is not ready end up with a failed promotion. Companies that default to external searches every time lose their best people to competitors. Stanton Chase helps boards balance internal development with external optionality so that when a transition happens you have genuine choices rather than a scramble.

How do I handle emergency succession when a senior leader leaves unexpectedly?

You plan for knowledge transfer before someone resigns, not after. When a senior leader leaves they take years of client relationships, strategic context, and organizational understanding with them. Stanton Chase builds knowledge transfer into the succession planning process so that incoming leaders are not starting from scratch and the business does not lose years of accumulated expertise overnight.

When should my board start planning for leadership succession?

Years before they think they need to. 46% of boards have no real CEO succession plan in place when a transition happens, and $1 trillion in shareholder value is destroyed every year across the S&P 1500 by poorly managed leadership transitions. The best time to start building a succession plan is when things are stable and you have the time to do it properly.

Stanton Chase helps boards build succession plans that are ready long before the transition comes, so that when it does happen the process is calm, considered, and already underway.

How do I develop internal successors while keeping external options open?

Have a plan already in place. Companies without emergency succession plans waste months figuring out who should step in, and the leadership vacuum does more damage than the departure itself. Stanton Chase helps companies build emergency succession plans that identify interim leaders in advance and lay out exactly what happens when a CEO, CFO, or COO leaves without warning.

What is the best approach to executive succession planning for my company's size and stage?

The one that gives you an honest picture of where you stand. Succession planning only works if it is built on a realistic assessment of your internal bench, your development gaps, and the roles across your leadership team that need a plan and not just the CEO. Stanton Chase has been helping boards plan C-suite succession across more than 45 countries since 1990.

Companies keep coming back to us because we help them see their succession readiness clearly, build plans that account for both internal development and external options, and prepare for transitions in a way that holds up when the moment actually arrives.

Learn More About Our Succession Planning Service

Get in touch

I would like to