How Boards Can Support First-Time CEOs
Appointments of first-time CEOs are on the rise. But new data shows those leaders aren’t getting the support needed from boards to make the transition.
Key Takeaways:
- Boards are appointing more first-time CEOs than ever before.
- Data shows that both directors and first-time CEOs feel they could have done a better job preparing them to lead.
- Boards need to provide first-time CEOs with a more structured transition and development program.
First-Time CEOs Need Support. Boards Aren’t Giving it to Them.
When it comes to CEOs, organizations are putting their faith in untested leaders more than ever. And it is indeed faith, because new research shows that many boards do little to prepare those leaders for the role.
Historically, during major disruptive or transformational phases, organizations have appointed seasoned executives with CEO experience as leaders. But despite the economic uncertainty, geopolitical instability, and AI disruption of recent years, firms are appointing an increasing number of CEOs who have never run a company before. Last year, 84% of the 168 CEOs appointed to S&P 500 companies were first-time chief executives, with successors younger than 60 being hired at record rates. The problem, however, is that first-time CEOs aren’t getting the board support they need to successfully make the transition, observes Jane Edison Stevenson, global leader of board and CEO succession at Korn Ferry. “Managing a CEO is not one-size-fits-all,” she says.
Boards are used to leaving new CEOs to their own devices—it’s why they typically appoint leaders with prior CEO experience to manage crises. But Stevenson says first-time CEOs need more support and development than boards traditionally provide. That’s starting to show up in the data: A 2026 Korn Ferry study found that the annual stock return of a company that hired a first-time CEO averaged 16.3%, versus 36.3% for a company that chose one with experience.
“In reality, first-time CEOs need a much more structured transition program that addresses both strategic and operational leadership challenges.”
Elise Schroeter, managing partner of Korn Ferry’s CEO and C-Suite Impact Accelerator solution, says first-time CEOs can find the dynamics of leadership overwhelming in normal times, much less amid today’s uncertainty and volatility. “There are so many things to figure out when you first take the role,” she notes. Many boards assume the transition can be handled through executive coaching or informal guidance from the chair, she says, but “in reality, first-time CEOs need a much more structured transition program that addresses both strategic and operational leadership challenges.”
To be sure, early data from an upcoming Korn Ferry survey on CEO and board risk shows that only 15% of first-time CEOs said their board did a strong job preparing them to lead. Even more shocking, directors felt the same way about how well the organization prepared the new CEO (the numbers are closer to 50% for both sides when asked if the board did a “pretty good” job).
In particular, many boards and firms don’t adequately help new first-time CEOs understand the cultural assets and liabilities they’re inheriting, says Schroeter. That’s true for leaders hired both externally and internally. She advises boards help first-timers establish relationships with key stakeholders and to spend time with both directors and senior management before taking over.
Tierney Remick, co-leader of Board and CEO services at Korn Ferry, says boards can help accelerate a first-time CEO’s learning curve simply by offering regular feedback and developmental conversations. Board chairs must nurture the relationship with first-time CEOs, she says: “No CEO is a perfect unicorn, and with first-time CEOs there’s a balance boards need to strike between supporting and judging.”
Claudia Pici Morris, Korn Ferry’s leader of CEO and board succession in North America, agrees. When a board appoints a first-time CEO, she suggests it should establish metrics for success, above and beyond financial results, during the first 12 months. Such metrics could include qualitative measures tied to strategy or organizational priorities. “No two CEOs are facing the same challenges and opportunities,” she says. “Boards need to set clear expectations at the point of transition about what ‘good’ looks like in the first year and continually adjust as the CEO role evolves.”
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