News & Insights

Coaching and Mentoring: Vital Avenues for Sustainable CEO Performance

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:14:37 Z

Too many top leaders are missing out.

Unequivocal, discreet and skilled support. Honest input. Self-awareness. This is why coaching and mentoring are so vital for top leaders. Both should provide a safe, neutral, and confidential space for a CEO to open up and gain counsel. Both require non-judgement and empathy. Yet many organizations fail to provide this life support. They’re missing a significant opportunity, say Amrop Partners.

Read our report: The CEO Struggle - Part 3: Sustaining the Leader.

The CEO Struggle - Part 3: Sustaining the Leader

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:36:10 Z

It’s early evening, and a CFO takes a call. A headhunter has a tempting proposition: a multinational on an M&A drive is seeking a new CEO. Can she talk? The toplines sound great. A prestigious position in an outstanding organization. It's a natural step up. An intriguing challenge.

All these factors matter to an incoming CEO. But they are not enough. The organizational setting will be critical: from the board and C-suite team, to the firm’s higher purpose. So, too, the top executive’s access to a peer entourage, her attitudes, purpose and self-care.

“Usually, these factors are not considered enough,” says Fredy Hausammann, Managing Partner of Amrop in Switzerland. “If you have a legacy executive team and a non-executive board which aren’t ideally configured, you’ll have trouble.” In essence: “If the setting is right, you don't have to worry about the rest.”

When the pressure is on, how can a CEO stay resilient?

Cybersecurity doesn’t just protect value - It creates it

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:29:05 Z

Job Voorhoeve | Netherlands

Is your CISO the right player, in the right place?

Enterprise risk. Regulatory compliance. Reputation. Long-term value. Cybersecurity touches all four board imperatives. No longer just a matter of technical protection, it concerns sustainable performance and strategic resilience.

Are you ready for the next era of shipping?

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:30:56 Z

Christian Reich | Denmark

A global ecosystem adds new perspectives – if you know where to look.

Shipping is entering the most complex decade in its modern history. An interplay of digitization, decarbonization and geopolitics is reshaping strategic decisions. Complementary perspectives are needed at board and C-suite levels, says Christian Reich, leader of Amrop’s Global Shipping Practice.

Hyper-personalization in Retail: Strategy vs Morality

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 13:58:49 Z

Oana Ciornei - Romania

Hyper-personalization is shaping the future of retail - fast. Consider Sephora: through AI-driven skin diagnostics, tailored product recommendations, loyalty data integration, and seamless online-offline journeys, the brand has transformed personalization into a core competitive advantage. Beauty is no longer just about product; it is about curated experience.

And it is not just a technical question – but a strategic and moral one.

AI: The Case for Natural Intelligence

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 16:33:05 Z

Why People, Not AI, Must Stay at the Center of Our Economy

Benoit Lison - Belgium | Ulrich Beckendorff - Germany

Everywhere you look, AI is hailed as the next great revolution. Yet when we cut through the excitement and look closely at what expert institutions actually report, the picture that emerges is far less glamorous - and far more sobering.

Data harmonization and integrated intelligence: Is your culture up to it?

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:56:16 Z

Hugo Martins - Portugal

One team. Borderless collaboration. Professional services firms are keen on these reassuring declarations. But the way data is shared may tell a different story. One that is more about protectionism than partnership.

In reality, many partnerships still run along multiple side alleys, rather than a single track. The transition from siloed data to unified, intelligence-driven operating models is complex for any business. For professional services firms, it may herald an existential crisis.

The transition doesn’t just rest on technical platforms or operations. It’s a cultural concern.

Stress-testing the CEO: Why a polished CV is no longer enough

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:15:58 Z

Some characteristics remain fundamental to today’s CEO, says Fredy Hausammann, Managing Partner of Amrop in Switzerland. Communication skills. Strategic ability. And cognitive and creative intelligence, "are amongst the most validated success factors.”

Meanwhile, the need for other qualities is evolving. Naohiro “Nakki” Furuta is the Managing Partner of Amrop Jomon in Japan. He places less value today on overt charisma and power. “The current CEO needs more moderation, objectivity, an ability to stay calm.” And empathy is just as important.

Read our report: The CEO Struggle - Part 2: The Quest For Resilience

The CEO Struggle - Part 2: The Quest For Resilience

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 10:49:27 Z

Every year, the media pounces upon a new cluster of high profile CEO exits. 2025 was no exception. It saw the resignations of X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, and the oustings of Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen and Kohl's CEO Ashley Buchanen.

Resilience has never mattered more for the CEO. Some characteristics remain fundamental, says Fredy Hausammann, Managing Partner of Amrop in Switzerland. Communication skills. Strategic ability. And cognitive and creative intelligence, "are amongst the most validated success factors.” Meanwhile, the need for other qualities is evolving. Naohiro “Nakki” Furuta is the Managing Partner of Amrop Jomon in Japan. He places less value today on overt charisma and power. “The current CEO needs more moderation, objectivity, ability to stay calm.”

The mountain top is bleak and exposed. How can it be made more habitable and fulfilling? A room from which CEOs can even occasionally enjoy the view?

First Time NEDs: Nervousness is Healthy

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 13:06:38 Z

Elin Wrammerfors - Sweden

Here’s why, and what to do about it.

Geopolitical shocks, ESG pressure and cyber threats are complicating today’s risk landscape. Shareholder scrutiny and ESG reporting are increasing the visibility of board decisions. NED candidates are worried about personal liability. But the real risks for NEDs come from weak governance, passive boards, and groupthink.

There is good news. As an independent board member, you don’t bear the burden alone. Nor are you judged on clairvoyance. What matters are proper oversight, independent judgment, and robust decisionmaking processes. How you reached a decision is almost more critical than the decision itself - following every step correctly, serving the company’s best interests.

Leadership Lens: Capital re-allocation as a leadership capability

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:56:58 Z

Aiga Arste-Avotina - Baltics

Watchwords will be credibility, systems thinking, and talent at industry intersections.

Despite strong crosswinds, Energy and Infrastructure players are pursuing their quest for clean energy. Certainly, fossil fuels still dominate – for now. But the resources that will shape the future are steadily being diverted. As of early 2026, for every $1 invested in fossil fuels, close to $2 is being funneled into clean power, grids, and storage.

The transition is unfolding under heightened concerns about geopolitical volatility, energy security and affordability. Even if capital is dynamic, its deployment is hampered by grid bottlenecks, permit delays, skilled labor shortages and supply-chain constraints. And investors are more interested in delivery discipline than ambition alone.

Leadership Lens: How a family-owned market leader flexed to hiring realities

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:23:21 Z

Kelly Freeman - Canada | Lucie Shaw - UK

When partnership nourishes adaptability

An 80-year-old family-owned firm with a rich heritage is today a global leader in premium home appliances. Guided by three ‘north stars’ of brand, quality and culture, it is famous for innovation and aesthetics.

Now under the stewardship of a 3rd generation Chair, how can the business continue to secure top leaders? After all, they need deep industry knowledge, preserving the firm’s deeply held values while assuring sustainable growth.

What's undermining CEOs?

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:30:23 Z

The role of CEO is now almost impossibly demanding. Long hours, continuous stress, ambiguity and risk in a turbulent environment. Responsibility for company performance, culture, employee wellbeing, shareholder and stakeholder demands. Under the spotlight 24/7. The health of top executives is at stake. It affects organizations, the economy, society and even the planet.

Read our report: The CEO Struggle: The View From the Top.

The CEO Struggle: View From the Top

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:31:14 Z

“In 2007, while running The Huffington Post, I collapsed from stress, burnout, and lack of sleep, breaking my cheekbone on my desk as I fell.”¹

Arianna Huffington has since become a vocal advocate for sleep, wellness, and mental health in leadership. But urging exhausted CEOs to get more sleep, exercise or therapy only puts more pressure on their shoulders. It's time to diagnose the problem, look at how CEOs are hired, and the infrastructure that surrounds them.

In this series, senior Amrop Partners draw on their deep conversations with boards, nominating committees and the lonely leaders atop the corporate mountain. As CEO malaise surges, read on for an insider’s view of the weather systems at the summit, and strategies to stay resilient and healthy. In Part 1, we examine the CEO's operating environment.

GenAI in Hiring: Why Values and Ethics Must Always Guide Technology

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:46:44 Z

A board must ensure the organization’s key activities are ethical, ESG-compliant (beyond a certain size) and filtered through its purpose and values.

Talent acquisition strategy is no exception.

“Integrity and ethics are the number one priority for boards,” says Amrop Board Member Oana Ciornei. “When I studied computers, it was about technology: limitations in terms of capacity, storage, processing. But now it is the other way around.” Executive up-skilling and re-skilling should be pushed by the board, she says, “because otherwise you will end up installing algorithms, unable to determine why a certain decision is not ethical.

AI-Driven Executive Search: Watertight Board Oversight

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:11:31 Z

As the risks and opportunities pile up, how can boards assure watertight oversight?

AI is transforming C-suite and board hiring. Given sky-high stakes and opportunities, boards can’t afford to stay on the sidelines. Even if NEDs are not involved in day-to-day recruitment, they must oversee the use of automation in talent strategy, ensuring ethical, purposeful, and risk-aware practices.

Not interfering - but guiding with wisdom and integrity.

I Am Not a Robot: AI and Leadership Hiring - Part III

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:11:59 Z

Watertight oversight: The role of Boards

In March 2025, an employee of software company Intuit claimed that its use of an automated video interview platform unfairly blocked her promotion. She blamed AI-driven biases related to her disability and race. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed charges on her behalf against Intuit and HireVue, the tech firm she said used AI in a discriminatory way. Both denied the accusation. Intuit stated that it provides reasonable accommodations to all applicants. HireVue denied that Intuit even used AI in this instance.¹

Law firm Fisher Phillips say this emphasizes the need for organizations using AI hiring tools to conduct regular accessibility audits, review vendor agreements, train HR teams about possible AI biases and legal requirements, and allow for human review during an interview process. They should offer clear and simple pathways for applicants needing accommodations, monitoring and adjusting AI usage to address potential biases.

Given the stakes surrounding senior hires in particular, should boards be involved in guiding AI use in talent management strategy? Let’s recall the board’s core activities of Control (protecting shareholder wealth), and Service, helping the firm create value, aligning shareholder and societal interests.²

AI in Executive Search: Will Recruitment Automation Delete Headhunters?

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 15:42:29 Z

Hiring organizations are busily experimenting with AI. But when recruiting top executives, most still limit it to operational efficiencies and support, or double-checking deeper human work.

And our clients tell us “We don’t pay you just to use AI.”

Download the full report.

AI & C-suite Recruitment: Look Before You Leap

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:23:39 Z

How can we secure AI governance in executive search?

One thing is for sure: AI integration isn’t just about experimentation. It needs purpose, strategy, ethics. It demands structure and training.

Mia Zhou is a Director of Amrop in China. She signals that the CIO, CDO or CAIO must translate business understanding into digital language, leveraging AI tools in work processes - enabling users to create prompts, for example. They must lock in ethical considerations and habituate users to the tools, adds Job Voorhoeve, leader of Amrop’s Global Digital Practice. They also have to drive quality and integrity in all processes – including HR. Here, executive search creates major value. But it is both complex and costly.

Download Part I of our new report.

I Am Not a Robot: AI and Leadership Hiring - Part I

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:00:00 Z

Part 1 | Mapping a Shifting Landscape

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping leadership hiring - accelerating processes, enriching relationships, and opening new possibilities for executive search. Yet, it remains a tool that demands judgment and restraint.

In this three-part series, Amrop explores how AI is transforming executive and board-level recruitment - its opportunities, risks, and what the future may hold. Could AI ever replace the headhunter?

Drawing on insights from senior Amrop partners and board members, early adopters and active contributors to the firm’s global AI governance, this first article examines how the technology is taking shape inside the executive search ecosystem.

Governance For What’s Next 4: Future-Proof Evaluation

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 10:40:00 Z

No matter the size or structure of your organization, the case for board evaluation has never been stronger. In a turbulent environment, stakeholders and (activist) shareholders are demanding clarity on how boards are securing results. Box-ticking is no longer enough. And there is a move from one-off appraisals to an integrated, cyclical approach.

What are the basics of board evaluation, and what does excellence look like?

In this final article of our series: ‘Governance For What’s Next’, Amrop Partners and members of its Global Board Services Practice scan the current landscape of board evaluation and present a pragmatic model.

Governance For What’s Next 3: NED Hiring

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:13:00 Z

The ideal board is a well-built railroad running seamlessly into the future. In reality, gaps in the tracks are risking derailments. Too close to home, board succession planning is low on the priority list. The workload and risk exposure of the NED role are deterring some outstanding candidates.

And as overboarding persists, the safest hands may well be occupied elsewhere. Furthermore, the temptation to seek board members within a trusted network can backfire.

In this series, Amrop Partners and members of the Amrop Board Services Practice deliver insights from the frontlines of boardrooms. When hiring, how can boards balance fresh thinking with stability? Reassure wary candidates? Is it time to seek younger profiles or specialists? And what are the hiring no-no’s?

Governance For What’s Next 2: Balancing Design

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 11:53:00 Z

Today more than ever, boards and committees need even-handed architects. How can boards dive into complexity without drowning? How to deal with new questions surrounding diversity, technical literacy and M&A strategy? And how can board design mitigate the personal risk faced by overloaded NEDs?

In this series, Amrop Partners and members of Amrop's Board Services Practice deliver insights from the frontlines of boardrooms.

What pitfalls do governance designers risk in the current climate, and how can they be avoided?

Governance For What’s Next 1: The Great Reset

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:13:00 Z

The geopolitical risks are piling up: the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has required production to be diverted, nearshored and secured (even as the sustainability of supply chains is under scrutiny). A trade war is beckoning. New conflict in the Middle East. In a literal and metaphorical sense, the planet’s temperature is rising.

Meanwhile existing undercurrents persist: global markets have been shifting for some time. Legacy economies such as Germany and the UK are stagnating. The US may be entering a recession. China and Japan have lost their earlier momentum. And AI is compounding the insecurity, its outlines obscured by dense fog.

As if these pressures on boards were not enough, share- and stakeholders are scrutinizing their performance, particularly regarding return on investment, ethics, risk management and sustainability. No question, boards are living in ‘interesting times’.

In this series, Amrop's Board Services Practice delivers insights from the frontlines of boardrooms. How are boards creating clarity today? And where do their priorities lie, given a crowded and restless agenda?

Recruiting the Digital Leaders for What’s Next

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:31:34 Z

Attracting Top Talent for Chief AI Officer and Digital Leadership Positions

The rise of AI is fundamentally remaking corporate strategy. More than a tool, AI is a strategic imperative - a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine industries and outpace competitors. As AI-driven transformation accelerates, corporate leaders must navigate its implications for the workforce.

In our latest report, Amrop’s Global Digital Practice examines the leadership competencies essential for successfully integrating AI into organizations, as well as strategies for developing these skills. We interviewed CEOs/GMs, inviting them to share their real experience in leveraging AI strategies for their organization and customers. We asked them about AI tools used in their organizations, the impact of AI on leadership skills, how their organizations are experiencing AI’s disruptive effects and the future of AI in their organizations and their industries.

In the executive summary below, Amrop's Job Voorhoeve outlines what we’ve learned about leading in the AI age and the very crucial role of the Chief AI Officer.