New-age CEOs: India Inc's bosses adapt their qualifications to keep up with dynamic business landscape
A recent survey by global search firm Executive Access, commissioned by TOI, highlights this trend. The study, which analyzed over 300 new CEO hires in 2023-24, found that only 45% of C-suite leaders now come from a sales and marketing background, a significant drop from the 80% observed a decade ago. Instead, streams like strategy and operations are gaining prominence, with around 20% of new CEOs coming from a strategic background.
«A lesser percentage of CEOs come from the function of sales and marketing, which was not the case earlier. The survey also found a higher number of CEOs are now from strategy and operations. Strategy has become very important as complexity and uncertainty of any business has increased significantly,» said Ronesh Puri, MD of Executive Access India. «Businesses are looking to survive and grow as businesses are becoming extinct much faster today. Therefore, it has become imperative for companies to look at both survival and growth, which a strategist can do well.»
This shift is attributed to increased business complexities, requiring leaders to engage with investors, regulatory bodies, banks, environmental frameworks, and global economic situations. Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises, noted, «In a world where winning was all about outwitting the competition through better sales and marketing, CEOs were largely chosen from the sales and marketing function. But now, CEOs have to deal with various complexities. Strategy specialists, often with a strong IIT-IIM background and
