Swiss firms like continuity in the boardroom
Just one in ten bosses at listed Swiss companies got replaced last year – reflecting a tendency to keep things consistent. Together with Austria and Germany, Switzerland reported the fewest leadership changes compared with international peers, says a study.
According to the 2014 “Study of CEOs, Governance and Success” by Strategy&External link, the world average for boss-swapping is 14.3%, down from 17% in 2013. Good economic conditions helped reinforce the trend towards long-term planning and a well-prepared succession plan, stated Strategy& on Tuesday. A low rate of change is usually associated with a stable economy, explained Andreas Lenzhofer, a partner at Strategy& in Zurich.
“As a result, the bosses are under less pressure,” said Lenzhofer, noting that the positive development of enterprises in Switzerland had shown in their share prices.
In Swiss firms where there was a change of top manager, it went as planned in 83% of cases. And 44% of new bosses came from abroad, compared with an international average of 15%. In addition to the candidates’ broad experience, Lenzhofer saw two main reasons for this: the number of multinationals located in Switzerland, and the fact that the talent base is rather small.
Some 40% of new bosses in Switzerland come from other sectors. Also, executives are increasingly recruited from outside the company; last year, the figure was 40%. That was much more than in the previous year (24%) and abroad (22%).
Strategy& predicts more changes on account of increased networking and digitalisation. Therefore, future executives will need to have a broad education as well as solid digital skills.
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