How Compensation Decisions Support CEO Succession

One of a board’s most important responsibilities is selecting the CEO. Most boards have annual succession planning discussions and robust procedures to prepare for a transition. But, recognizing both the shrinking of leaders’ tenures and the shifting skill sets needed for future success, many boards are now making succession planning a continual process. Centered on an ongoing conversation with the CEO, the process might start with one or two candidates and then expand, internally or externally, as needed. Even under ideal conditions, however, succession is a sensitive process...

Blair Jones is a managing director at Semler Brossy with 30 years of consulting on executive compensation.

Deb Beckmann is a managing director at Semler Brossy Consulting Group.