News & Insights

The CEO Struggle - Sustaining the Leader

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:00:00 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.”

The CEO Struggle | The Quest For Resilience

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:00:00 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 CEO Struggle | View From the Top

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:00:00 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.

Rediscovering the Core in FMCG: A Conversation with Robin Lybeck

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:00:00 Z

" A company which needs a turnaround typically has lost sight of its original core business idea and strength" A company which needs a turnaround typically has lost sight of its original core business idea and strength" Robin Lybeck is a business leader with more than 20 years of experience across diverse operating environments, with deep expertise in turnaround situations and international expansion. He has held senior leadership roles within global FMCG organizations such as Coca-Cola, led multi-country operations backed by private equity and listed on Nasdaq Nordic, and played a pivotal role in building partnerships and driving the strategic expansion of Celsius across the EMEA region. In conversation with Amrop, Lybeck shares insights from his extensive career in the FMCG sector, highlighting the critical importance of understanding evolving consumer preferences, assembling the right leadership teams, and maintaining market relevance when scaling food tech brands into new geographies. He also reflects on his collaboration with members of Amrop’s Global Consumer & Retail Practice, including Stefan Ottelin in Finland and Anna Bonde in Sweden.

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

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:00:00 Z

AI is rewriting the rules of executive recruitment. But in a space defined by judgement, risk and nuance, can it really be trusted to lead? Not yet. And maybe not ever entirely. In Part I of ‘I Am Not a Robot’, Amrop Partners pull back the curtain on how AI is reshaping executive and board-level recruitment. Where does it sharpen human decision-making – and where does it quietly erode it? In a digital age, what ‘analog’ rules are worth protecting?

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.

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

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:00:00 Z

AI won’t replace executive recruiters. But recruiters who learn to work with AI will replace those who don’t. Executive search has always been an art of intuition - reading between the lines, sensing fit beyond the CV. But beneath the surface lies an opportunity: What if AI could see patterns we miss - without losing the human touch that defines true leadership judgment?

Pitfalls, Risks & Solutions

While AI offers efficiency and scale in executive search, some pitfalls are currently limiting its effectiveness in high-level hiring. None are insurmountable.

In Part 2 of our series examining how AI is transforming executive search and its impact on global executive talent acquisition, senior Amrop Partners unpack the downsides in data-driven leadership hiring processes.

How can AI users get the best of both worlds in executive and board hiring?

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

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:00:00 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

Amrop Finland welcomes Heikki Vahtera as Partner

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:00:00 Z

Amrop Finland is pleased to introduce Heikki Vahtera as the newest Partner in its Helsinki office.

Prior to entering the executive search industry 13 years ago, Heikki worked for over 20 years in the pharmaceutical and healthcare services sectors, holding Managing Director and senior leadership positions in marketing, sales, business development and consulting within several international companies in Finland and across the Nordic region.

During his executive search career, Heikki’s industry expertise and client network have expanded significantly beyond Life Sciences and Healthcare to include a wide range of other sectors, such as Industrial and Technology, Energy, Construction and Real Estate, Logistics, as well as various associations. He also has solid experience working with the public sector.

Heikki focuses on demanding C-suite and senior executive search assignments, as well as board member searches. In most of his assignments, there has been a strong emphasis on general management, business leadership and development, finance, communications, sustainability, HR, and sales and marketing. His personal areas of interest include change management, digitalisation, and the development of business and customer experience. He also has extensive long-term experience working in international and multicultural environments.

Heikki holds an MSc (Econ.) from the University of Vaasa, majoring in Marketing. Alongside his professional career, he has completed numerous leadership and management programmes in business management and consulting, including studies at Ashridge Business School in the UK.

“Understanding the current situation, long-term goals and the development steps required is what drives my collaboration with clients forward. I find my greatest professional satisfaction in seeing clients’ businesses grow and develop because of strong leadership.”

Amrop Finland welcomes Sanna Savonius as Partner

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 12:23:09 Z

Amrop Finland is pleased to introduce Sanna Savonius as the newest Partner in the Helsinki office. Sanna has a long background of leadership positions in large organizations and nearly 10 years in management consulting, resulting in extensive experience from various industries including technology and IT-services, retail and ecommerce, logistics, professional services and the public sector.

Sanna has recent leadership experience and active networks within a broad range of functions: Strategy and Development, Sustainability, Customer Experience and Customer Service, Shared Service Centers, Brand, Marketing and Communications. She has also been leading strategic transformations and turnaround programs in multinational companies, working closely with HR and ICT in building strategic capabilities and culture. With extensive experience of recruiting and working with executive search consultants in her leadership positions, Sanna easily grasps the client's perspective.

Sanna has a Communications and Political Science M.Soc.Sc. from the University of Helsinki. She loves challenges and believes in people. When not working, she plays basketball and enjoys the great outdoors with her family. Sanna is fluent in Finnish, Swedish, English, French and Spanish.

Sanna herself says "Having worked in a broad range of companies both as an employee, a consultant and a leader myself, I truly have experienced how great leadership makes a difference. My ambition is to help Finnish businesses grow and bloom thanks to inclusive, diverse, adaptable and emotionally mature leaders. I have found my new colleagues at Amrop very committed to these topics.”

The Amrop Talent Observatory

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 12:00:00 Z

What motivates leaders to join one kind of organization, and avoid another? What are their deeper criteria for career decisions? What sources are they using to ‘audit’ potential employers, and what are their attitudes to the use of AI in the hiring process? What factors are fueling executive departures and how have recent global events affected their confidence in making a career move?

To find out, we personally approached senior executives from across the world who had recently been shortlisted for a senior position with a hiring organization. As such, they were in a reflective and ‘organization-assessing’ state of mind. The study followed a central hypothesis: that their needs are profoundly changing.

Wise Decision-Making: Stepping Up to Sustainable Performance

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 02:00:00 Z

An ambiguous, complex business environment. An inter-connected world. A society switched-on 24/7 to corporate errors. The life of a leader has never been tougher. And despite the best efforts of many, trust remains fragile. Leadership today is filled with difficult social, environmental and ethical dilemmas.

Based on the input of 363 business leaders, this global Amrop study gauges the current health of leadership decision-making, to support the journey from smart to wise.

News & Insights

The CEO Struggle - Sustaining the Leader

The CEO Struggle | The Quest For Resilience

The CEO Struggle | View From the Top

“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

Rediscovering the Core in FMCG: A Conversation with Robin Lybeck

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

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

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

Amrop Finland welcomes Heikki Vahtera as Partner

Amrop Finland welcomes Sanna Savonius as Partner

The Amrop Talent Observatory

Wise Decision-Making: Stepping Up to Sustainable Performance

“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