Should Your Next CEO Come from Your Board?

Harvard Business Review November-December 2024 issue by Reshmi Paul, Heidi Smith, Samantha Hellauer and Shoma Hayden reports that from 2018 to 2023, 10% of incoming CEOs across the S&P 500 and Russell 3000 came from the board. The authors lay out why such picks can succeed: as insiders, board members already feel the culture, history and strategy; as outsiders to the executive team, they can challenge the existing way of operating more freely. The piece walks through when this insider-outsider hybrid model fits — and when it produces collusion-by-familiarity. Practical for SEA mid-market boards eyeing a long-tenured non-executive as the next CEO.