Behind the Hires: Charles Falcone

Charles Falcone is Director of the Physician Leadership Institute and Global Leader of the Academic Sector at Korn Ferry.

Previous career: “Cardiac anesthesiology resident and fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital; medical faculty at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.”  

Job description: “It’s an amalgamation, based on 35 years as a clinician, hospital administrator, leadership adviser and executive search consultant. My job is twofold: I oversee the global academic sector, which includes academic medicine and higher education, and I’m founder of the Physician Leadership Institute. I also work with clients directly on their C-suite hires and onboarding, and I’m a physician executive coach.”

Professional secret weapon: “I left medicine for this career, so I know what it’s like to leave an organization where you were very happy and doing great things. I know what it is to make a change.”

How he made the leap: “I really enjoyed studying leadership when I was getting my MBA at Kellogg. And when I was a job candidate myself, a senior partner asked, ‘Would you ever consider working with us?’ I tell a lot of my candidates: never lose sight of the fact that life happens while you’re making other plans.”

Why he came to Korn Ferry: “I was looking for an opportunity to think about end-to-end talent-cycle management. We’re the only firm I know of in the world able to work with clients from hire to retire. Many firms do it piecemeal.”

Worst part of the job: “We’re dealing with the most unpredictable of earth’s species: the human being. Sometimes just when you think you’ve got the position, the carpet gets pulled out from under you. You never know it’s done until it’s truly done. But that unpredictability is also the best part.”  

Favorite gigs: “I absolutely love mentoring, coaching and advising my clients as they think about their careers. The true privilege is really getting to affect the lives and careers of senior-level executives, and I really enjoy it.”    

Origin story: “I was a first-generation college student. I grew up in Pittston, Pennsylvania. My father was disabled and my mother was a seamstress. We didn’t have any socioeconomic advantages, but we were a really great family. Fortunately, school came easily and I appreciated the value of an education.”

‍Hobbies: “I love to travel. I’ve been to countless cities and am a dual citizen of Italy. I just got back from Portugal. I like to travel anywhere that offers topographical beauty as well as culture and history—that could be London and Rome, or Morocco and Patagonia. If we can combine it with great food and wine, we’ve hit a home run.”

Nonconformist perspective: “We’ve got to get out of our way with fee-based medicine, and appreciate prevention. This country has not yet embraced true, head-on prevention, probably because it doesn’t pay as well. The system is structured around treatment.”

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