While some people say that anyone can be a CEO, experts aver that the potential CEO should possess certain characteristics and experiences. The first requirement is international experience. If one wishes to be a CEO, then he should grab the chance when offered an opportunity to work abroad. This experience will give the individual a better appreciation of other cultures, and better understanding how clients from other countries behave. The second experience would be the experience of working either as a Board Member or working with the Board. This kind of experience makes one understand the behavioral dynamics going on with a working board, and helps one see if these working styles are good for the business. Another important experience would be the possibility to own and run one’s own enterprise. Being responsible for operations and for profits and losses provides the potential CEO with valuable experience – he will see parts of the business that he is not probably used to seeing, and develop a wider perspective of the business as well. Finally, being mentored by another CEO enables an individual not only to receive advice on running a business, but also to receive feedback on how one is performing based on the mentor’s perspective (Jacobs, 2014).
Older CEOs should take their retirement when the time comes. Studies show that CEOs older than 65 years of age rarely add value to the organization. It is said that for every year added to the CEO’s age, there was a corresponding decrease in company value by about 9.3% for public firms belonging to the S&P 1500. It was also mentioned that the younger and more dynamic CEOs were drawn to the faster-growing firms (Frick, 2016). Therefore older CEOs should take advantage of the benefits of retirement – being able to retire at the right age helps the individual enjoy the golden years of his life, and at the same time, this offers chances for the younger CEOs to bring fresher perspectives to any organization.
References
Frick, W. 2016. Should Older CEOs be Forced to Retire? Retrieved 25 February 2016 from: https://hbr.org/2016/02/should-older-ceos-be-forced-to-retire
Jacobs, S. 2014. Want to Become a CEO? Here’s How to Prepare. Retrieved 25 February 2016 from: http://www.clg.com/what-we-are-thinking/blog/want-to-become-ceo-heres-how-to-prepare/
