Accendo Helps Leading Insurance Company With CEO Succession Planning

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

The company has been looking for a new CEO to helm their life insurance division to drive business growth and increase sales at the same pace as the general insurance division. At the same time, they needed to identify candidates who possess the traits that aligned best with the changing business division. Since the shortlisted candidates included internal and external candidates, they needed a bias-free, data-driven approach.

SOLUTION

To ensure that all the candidates were assessed against the appropriate traits, Accendo recommended that a CEO Success Profile be created first.

CEO Success Profile

The Success Profile was developed with detailed research by the Accendo consulting team and took into account the needs of the insurance business, the company culture, and the company’s business strategy.

Comprehensive Assessments

Accendo also recommended a combination of different evaluation tools, including C-Suite psychometrics and simulation-based assessments, to ensure that each candidate was assessed holistically. The psychometrics were used to measure behavioural preferences, while the simulations were used to measure behaviour in action. Data results from these two assessments were combined into a single report and that acted as an input in the interview process.

In-Depth Debriefs

To assist the entire process, the Accendo consulting team debriefed the Group CEO and CHRO in detail, explaining the profile of each candidate, their strengths and gaps, the support structure they might need, as well as the recommended interview questions to ask.

IMPACT

The result was a faster selection process where the company was able to appoint a CEO in 1.5 months as opposed to the usual 3-4 months. This further reduced the negative business impact associated with an empty CEO seat.

There was also a faster onboarding process from all the data points collected during the assessment process. The company was able to prepare accurate development plans for the CEO, which helped to onboard him in a significantly shorter period.

The business performance had also improved significantly in the first year itself, thus validating the entire CEO selection process coordinated by Accendo.