Avoiding Pitfalls in CEO Evaluation

Directors & Boards (Sep 30, 2025) "Avoiding Pitfalls in CEO Evaluation" by Rochelle Campbell, drawing on insights from directors Herman Bulls and Mary Beth Vitale, identifies four recurring traps in the board's CEO-evaluation process: poor timing (compressing the process into compensation season or end-of-year meetings, producing rushed conversations); delayed feedback (waiting until the formal review to surface concerns rather than delivering regular touchpoints); personal bias from too-comfortable board-CEO relationships that soften feedback and overlook shortcomings; and outsourcing the evaluation to consultants, which dilutes a core board responsibility. Best practice: clear shared criteria the CEO knows in advance and year-round integration with feedback after each board meeting. Useful for SEA mid-market boards reforming founder-CEO evaluations.