News & Insights

The CEO Struggle | View From the Top

Wed, 04 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.

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.

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

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:00:00 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, 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-driven Executive Search: 4 pitfalls mean AIs risk losing critical talent profiles

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 15:00:00 Z

AIs are increasingly training on AI-generated data, potentially leading to the disturbing phenomenon of 'model collapse.' Executive and board recruiters need to pay keen attention to issues that may compromise a hire.

Download Part II on Pitfalls, Risks, and Solutions in AI and Leadership Hiring here.

Global executive recruitment: Ditch the AI – we need to talk. How are top candidates using the tech?

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:00:00 Z

Hiring organizations take note: top candidates will likely reject any unsolicited approach from an eager suitor. If it comes from a bot, they definitely will.

But once a hiring process is underway, senior executives will likely deploy an AI to prepare. Nonethless, they harbor serious doubts about what an AI does with their views and data.

Download Part I of our new report

AI-driven executive search: Will recruitment automation delete headhunters?

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 15:00:00 Z

Hiring organizations are busily experimenting with AI.

But when recruiting top executives, most still limit it to operational support or double-checking. And our clients tell us “We don’t pay you just to use AI.”

Download Part I of our new report

AI and C-suite recruitment: Look before you leap. How can we secure AI governance in executive search?

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 16:00:00 Z

Purpose. Strategy. Ethics. AI integration demands experimentation and structure.

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.

Download Part I of our new report

AI and Executive Recruitment: Not the full answer. Yet.

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:00 Z

Artificial intelligence in leadership recruitment remains in its infancy, according to Amrop hiring specialists. It shows great promise – but still has much to learn.

What is the current status of AI in talent acquisition strategy?

Download Part I of our new report

Family-owned businesses | CEE perspectives - 5

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 16:11:00 Z

PART 5 – The trusted leadership advisor

Family-owned businesses (FOBs) stand as some of the most enduring and human stories in the corporate world, writes Miloš Djurković, Managing Partner, Amrop Serbia. They embody legacy, identity, and the powerful intertwining of personal and professional lives.

This deeply rooted human dimension makes leadership in such a firm an extraordinary privilege and an extraordinary challenge. And pivotal moments will come — generational transitions, rapid growth, global expansion, or shifts in governance. These forks in the road require careful navigation.

Family-owned Businesses | CEE perspectives - 4

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 12:00:00 Z

Part 4 - Welcome to the Family

Hiring new leaders to take up the reins is one of the most critical chapters for a family-owned business, writes Željko Šundov, Partner, Amrop Croatia. It is also highly sensitive. As an incoming executive you’ll need to address a host of key questions. How does the owner truly envision your role? What is the scope of your mandate? Just two of the many things you’ll want to understand - ideally before stepping through the door.

In this chapter, Amrop provides guidance for executives in their first few months in an FOB: the attitudes, behaviors and actions needed in this special context.

Family-owned businesses | CEE perspectives - 3

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 12:00:32 Z

Part 3 - Finding the Leaders for What’s Next

If you are a CEE family-owned firm, your roots are the foundation, writes Matej Mrak, Partner, Amrop Adria. But will they be enough to secure the future? What should that look like? Could your 3-year growth target be doubled? Or is it over-optimistic? Might you expand further into CEE? Or is the market saturated? Is your business unique? Or are competitors eroding the bases? What are your non-negotiables?

In this series, Amrop Partners from CEE present ‘Family-owned Businesses: a Human Story’ – an investigation from the desk of the global Amrop Partnership. Based on 7 cultural facets of FOBs¹, this article presents 8 profile indicators for incoming leaders. From entrepreneurship to diplomacy. From patience to agility. Our proposed combination will maximize their ability to secure both continuity and change.

Family-owned Businesses | CEE perspectives - 1

Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:00 Z

Part 1 - LIFECYCLE

Family businesses are a powerful economic force in the CEE, accounting for around half of private sector employment. Like other businesses, they are addressing digitization, sustainability and ESG. But the lifecycle of a family-owned business raises specific challenges: succession, shifts in finance and ownership, governance and in many cases, the leap to listed status.

Family-owned businesses | CEE perspectives - 2

Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:00 Z

Part 2 - CULTURE

Family-owned businesses are the backbone of many economies around the world—and the CEE region is noexception, writes Marko Mlakar, Managing Partner, Amrop Adria.

They combine entrepreneurial ambition with generational values, long-term thinking with day-to-day resilience. Yet, amid strategy, succession, andstructure, there is one element that quietly drives performance and longevity—culture.