Succession Planning for a Manufacturer of Highly-Engineered Products

Business Case

The CEO of a $500 million worldwide manufacturer of highly engineered products wanted CMA to evaluate several top internal candidates to become the new CEO for the company.

The company consisted of multiple divisions, each with a division president who was being considered for a promotion to CEO of the entire company. The board of directors wanted an assessment comprised of independent, objective data to help them in the selection process. In addition, it was important that the assessments be conducted in such a way candidates would still deliver the same high degree of performance after the selection process was complete.

CMA conducted developmental assessments with each candidate, and during the individual feedback sessions, some of the candidates decided to opt out of the running for the position prior to the final selection of the new CEO.

Outcome

After the board selected the new CEO, the company did not lose any of the executives who were not selected for the CEO position. They continued to be top performers for the company.