Helen Handfield-Jones is an authority on the topic of CEO succession planning. She has been teaching, studying and consulting on the subject for almost a decade. Helen supports boards on CEO succession planning throughout the entire life cycle of the CEO. And she is the only specialist on this topic in Canada who is not in the business of doing executive search.
Boards engage Helen to help them get traction with their CEO succession plans. She offers a unique set of principles and pragmatic tools that provide rigour and structure to the multi-year succession process. Helen acts as a third-party facilitator, bringing a neutral, more objective perspective to the conversation. And she ensures all parties support the plan. Her in-depth knowledge and specialized expertise in this area ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved.
Helen works side by side with Chairs and board directors to help them chart the work plan of activities, address sensitive issues, think through possible scenarios and ultimately arrive at a decision on who will be the next CEO.
She will work with you to:
- Clarify the various roles of the CEO, the Committee, and the full Board
- Determine succession scenarios and timelines
- Define skills and experiences needed in the next CEO
- Consider internal candidates, and decide which are truly viable
- Decide what to communicate to candidates and other executives
- Assess, develop and retain the internal candidates
- Decide if, when, and how to look for external candidates
- Prepare for a smooth transition
Handfield Jones’ services are tailored to the individual needs of your Board. Your board might wish to engage Helen to provide full consulting support, in which case she would guide the board committee through the entire multi-year succession process and provide the Committee Chair with ongoing “staff” support. Or you can call Helen in to help you with specific challenges, such as deciding if the current CEO is the right leader for the next few years or agreeing on which executives are truly viable succession candidates.
If you are the Board Chair or Committee Chair you may wish to engage Helen to act as a behind-the-scenes advisor to help you think through how you will lead the succession process or deal with sensitive issues.
Another way to get started is to invite Helen to give a presentation on best practices to stimulate your Board’s thinking on CEO succession planning, CEO evaluation, or the board’s role in reviewing executive talent.