The crest of a long wave of governance reform began washing across the global corporate landscape in the late 1990s. Chief executives who can produce results are in greater demand than ever before. But the difficulties of delivering performance are also greater.

There is reason to think that the wave of CEO turnover is cresting, however. The global rates of CEO departures, including CEOs who are fired as well as those who retire or leave as part of a planned succession are starting to flatten out. Nonetheless, we don’t expect turnover to decline too much. Investors’ focus on performance is here to stay.

Because of heightened performance demands, we sense that a new governance dynamic has begun. This scenario leads to a study, the CEO Succession. The CEO succession study provides quantitative data concerning the impact of alternative governance arrangements on share values, and it suggests which characteristics of potential CEOs are most likely to increase a company’s effectiveness. One great reference that I would recommend to those who quest for this study is the book written by Dennis Carey. You may wish to take advantage of it for only $55.00. Great, isn’t it?