Irish CEO Market Snapshot

CEO demand and availability remains robust. While specific sectors see spikes or declines depending on strategic growth factors, the market is broadly active. Core expertise is unchanged with boards looking for a blend of strategic vision and operational agility. However, the post-pandemic era increasingly demands new CEO skill sets in order to navigate and capitalise on technological, cultural, and geopolitical transformations.

CEO hiring landscape 

The availability of strategic growth initiatives, succession dynamics, and pandemic-led attrition influence CEO hiring levels.

Growth or decline in strategic initiatives influence the demand for leadership. Renewables and sustainability currently enjoy investment boosts, driving the need for leaders in these areas. Likewise, industrial sectors, particularly areas of energy transition, are highly active. On the other hand, B2B technology, which was buoyant during the pandemic, is much quieter.

Strategic transformation and expansion into international markets also play roles, driving demand for leaders who can meet these needs. Given one in five Irish CEOs believe their business will need to transform to remain viable, we expect transformation and change to remain a key influence on leadership demand.

Succession dynamics are another critical aspect of the Irish CEO hiring landscape. Larger multinationals tend to possess comprehensive CEO succession planning, with an active market for group or divisional CEOs, replaced through a combination of internal and external candidates. Many, now have well-developed succession programs, looking two to three years ahead.

PE-backed firms and mid-market companies tend to favour external searches when seeking new CEOs. 

Finally, despite stepping firmly into the post-pandemic era, the fallout can still be felt, with pandemic-led burnout and attrition still driving CEO hiring.

CEO skills and experience gaps

Geopolitical issues present novel challenges for generally untested Irish CEOs, while narrow career backgrounds may prove to be a handicap in increasingly complex markets.

A large proportion of the CEO population have spent the bulk of their career in either business or operations. Many are operators at heart, and possess the ‘manager gene’ rather than the ‘leader gene.’ This can manifest in a lack of agility, acting as a functional leader and not a business leader, and failing to consider the organisation holistically.

As such, we now see boards looking for true strategic leaders, capable of uniting organisations, and adapting to a range of challenges from geopolitical upheaval to social instability. In particular, the ability to objectively deconstruct and reimagine business models for rapidly changing markets is sought after but not always found.

The ability to steer organisations through geopolitical issues is also a top skills concern. The seeming ‘perma-crisis’ taking place on the global stage is directly impacting Irish businesses, with 77 percent of Irish CEOs believing geopolitics will negatively impact their businesses prosperity.

In addition to newly emerging skill requirements, specific experience and backgrounds still remain a constant. Broadly, mid-size Irish companies favour candidates with experience in both larger and smaller companies, so they bring experience in processes and working ‘hands-on’. As is expected, high-growth companies want candidates from companies twice their own size. Likewise, PE firms naturally seek CEOs who possess prior experience in leading PE-backed companies, accompanied by a track record of successful growth.

Other skill shortages we see among CEOs include, digital transformation and the ability to exploit AI. The latter is a growing concern for boards, especially as only one-in-four Irish business leaders admit they have the skills to harness the potential of AI.

CEO candidate availability

For the most part, CEO candidate availability is strong, but sector-specific shortages exist, along with a dearth in ‘modern mindsets’, and ongoing diversity challenges. A regulatory burden is also impacting the ‘desire for the job’ with regulatory changes cited as chief concern among Irish CEOs.

Broadly, there’s a lack of commercial executives in healthcare and care businesses, and CEO candidates who can lead tech B2C businesses and ‘green’ companies, such as wind, solar, and batteries. While the technology labour market has slowed, talent shortages are emerging, particularly for CEOs who can transition companies to XaaS (anything-as-a-services) businesses.

Navigating geopolitical impacts will also require a new breed of CEO with a broader view of markets; a breed that is scarce but not impossible to find. This ‘broader view’ is part mindset and part skillset, and will require companies to identify and develop leaders with this mix of new thinking and skills, as well as hire externally. 

Appointing your next CEO

The core CEO role remains much the same as it ever has, and comes down to a mix of strategic leadership and operational expertise. However, the world and its economies are entering a new and uncharted era. CEOs who will thrive in this landscape, will be leaders possessing agility and adaptability, who can question existing business models, look at organisations holistically, and prioritise learning to align with rapidly changing technological and cultural developments. While hard to find, our leadership experts are tapped into this market, and work to identify CEOs fit for the future.

To discuss the CEO market or for help with your leadership appointments and succession planning, get in touch: mark.odonnell@odgersberndtson.com