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Because of continued troubles at Sprint (NYSE: S), the company's CEO, Gary Forsee, essentially got the boot. In fact, over the years, the CEO spot has been pretty tough – as seen with companies like Disney (NYSE: DIS), Boeing (NYSE: BA), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ).
So if big companies have trouble, what about small ones? Unfortunately, hiring a CEO is extremely difficult for any company.
"For an early stage company, the wrong CEO can be costly," said Gordon Gould, the founder and CEO of ThisNext. "Divorcing the executive can mean wasted time, money, momentum and possibly the company itself."
So, if you have doubts about a candidate, it's probably better to wait. "To get the right CEO, it takes time," said Dipanshu Sharma, the founder and CTO of V-ENABLE. "So allocate at least three to four months for the process." Actually, his company recently hired a new CEO.
Sharma believes it is critical to hire a recruiter. "A top-tier venture capital firm recommended a recruiter for us," he said.
And the process was strenuous: "We set up a weekly call with the recruiter and the board/management. Every week we would prioritize the candidate list. After a few weeks, we got candidates that we had initial conversations with. Of those we found that matched our selection criteria, we held several rounds of interviews. In the final process, we flew them to our offices and introduced them to a broader team before finalizing the candidate."
It was also important to spend time on creating a candidate profile. As for V-ENABLE, the company focused on a CEO with:
- Demonstrated success in previous CEO roles
- Team player
- Growth oriented
- Raised capital and has experience in M&A
- Worked in wireless and has relationships with wireless service providers
"Our board and management went through several iterations to make sure we were covering the short term as well as long term needs for the company," said Sharma.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-15-2007 @ 9:26AM
haveittodayray said...
Very good article, without a doubt, hiring a good CEO, will have a positive impact on your company.
One of the worst examples in years, would be the hiring of Bob Nardelli by Home Depot, volumes have been written about that disaster and will continue to be. At the cost of the shareholders,
he took his "golden parachute" and ran, literally with millions that belonged to the shareholders.
So, without a doubt, a CEO, that has charisma, vision and a plan will excel, providing the people
and motivational skills are present. In corporate
America today, they really all want more , and more hours from their managment teams, more producitivy, less benefits, etc. There is a better alternative and that's free enterprise with your own
business. If your would life to have a life, you only
dream about visit 6figuresandmore.com. What is better than a new CEO at your company, working for yourself as an entrenprener.
tags: CEO, Nardelli, Home Depot, Business, Corporations, leadership, management, hiring,
raylanfear, 6figuresandmore.com, myspace.com/raylanfear, recruiting,haveittodayray, small business
entrenpreneurs, Boeing, HP, Hewlett-Packard,
10-15-2007 @ 9:54AM
61857 said...
--Not a good article what so ever. It was NOT worth the read. According to the author "hiring a CEO is extremely difficult for any compant" such a lie.
Most companies hire friends, families as CEOs. Most companies if not all hire WHITES ONLY as CEOs so why gloss over these essential facts?
If your going to write an article have it FACT based not whimsical such as this article is. So called Corporate America is fraudulent at best. Enron is a classic example. All CEOs of Enron were in fact former friends, family members. Equal opportunity was never afforded to those who could get the job done.
Corporate America is all about how much "MONEY" can you make for the company, not what they can do for your best interrest nor your family a/k/a ENRON.
I have my M.B.A. now, and I can't tell you how many companies decided I was NOT qualified to be CEO based on the color of my skin (non white) and the fact that I am female. So keep it real.
10-15-2007 @ 5:06PM
M C said...
Ms. M.B.A.,
I believe the article was to inform business owners about how exactly to avoid mistakenly hiring somebody with an attitude such as yours to be their CEO, simply because an applicant may have the degree requirements met. I amthe CEO of a chain of restaurants, and I would question the judgement of any of my managers if they so much as hired you to wash dishes any any of our locations.
If you really wish to become accomplished, and make good use of your degree, then you MUST lose the chip on your shoulder and begin by realizing that nobody owes you a job, and usually you must work your way up in a company, proving yourself all along the way to have the selfless dedication to the company and shareholders that a truly qualified leader would have. If you read the article correctly, you will see that in hiring a CEO, most people would prefer that a canidate has already performed the duties of a CEO at another job, and have knowledge particular to that specific business as well. If you really believe that your being held back, than you are...by yourself.
10-15-2007 @ 6:01PM
M D said...
M C
I agree Ms MBA comments can be intrepreted as angry. However, you noted the following: "If you read the article correctly, you will see that in hiring a CEO, most people would prefer that a canidate has already performed the duties of a CEO at another job, and have knowledge particular to that specific business as well".
Tell me MC, how would one get such experience if an opportunity is not given to the individual. Would you say someone would have to take a chance on an individual either by hiring as an intern, or contractual or trial basis?
Ms. MBA, I feel your pain. However remember, no one understands you unless they live in your skin. Also, most individuals feel we live in a totally unbiased world. Living with blinders on! Please do loose the attitude, this is the only criteria you are judged on, your attitude. Unfortunately, this is the most prevalent side most often shown by the media . Never let them see you sweat nor upset!
Don't give up, keep persevering, stay positive, a door will open for you!
10-16-2007 @ 4:50AM
woody said...
When I got out of school I went to work in construction. The money was better than a starting job in business. After about 25yr I quit a high paying job,as forman and took a job for $3.35 an hour as a dishwasher for a food chain. It took me 11 months to become training manager for the company. It also took me another 20yr to become the c.e.o. of my own company.The point is you have to start somewhere and you have to learn the business from the bottom up. Many who start to high up in a business never understand the important things that have to be accomplished to make a buisness grow and profit.