19 | Succession Planning and the New CEO “Avatar”

In this episode of Build Better Boards, hosts Dr. Keri Jacobs and Richard Fagerlin examine how boards can keep CEO-succession plans alive and relevant. They distinguish emergency “hit-by-the-beer-truck” scenarios from long-term leadership development, and explain why creating a forward-looking CEO “avatar” helps boards hire the right leader when the time comes.

• Differentiate an emergency response plan (short-term stopgaps) from an evolving succession framework focused on strategic needs.
• Review practical steps for keeping successor lists and processes up to date—and why boards should revisit them at least annually.
• Build a CEO “avatar” by gathering input from stakeholders on future skills, behaviors, and experiences rather than copying the outgoing job description.
• Watch for biases that overweight recent performance or single metrics; use a balanced-scorecard mindset when evaluating candidates.
• Develop internal talent broadly while managing expectations, recognizing that high performers may still need outside exposure to become enterprise-level generalists.
  

Follow Build Better Boards on LinkedIn for updates. Find show notes and transcripts at buildbetterboards.com/podcast.