All mandates
Reference QC-24-027
Chief Executive
Client
Third-generation consumer goods company, Rhine region
162
Mapped
44
Approached
3
Shortlisted
18
Weeks to appointment
Practice
Chief Executive
Partner
Thomas Achterberg
Year
2024
Situation
A third-generation consumer goods company had always been led by a family member. The next generation chose to remain shareholders rather than managers, and asked us to find the first external chief executive.
Approach
We spent the first three weeks with the family, the advisory board and the senior team. Only once everyone agreed on the profile did we begin the longlist, which focused on general managers from branded goods companies with experience of owner-led cultures.
Result
The appointed chief executive joined in week eighteen. The family chair describes the handover as calmer than any generational change before it.
Outcome
First chief executive from outside the family in the company’s history.