Recommended Reading - CEO Succession Planning Lags Behind Research Finds, Stanford Graduate School of Business

The gap in succession planning at corporations continues to raise serious problems for companies. The Stanford Graduate School of Business’ June issue examined research on CEO succession planning conducted by Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search firm, and Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance. According to David Larker a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business,

“We found that this governance lapse stems primarily from a lack of focus: boards of directors just aren’t spending the time that is required to adequately prepare for a succession scenario.”

To get a summary of the research’s findings go to Stanford’s GSB News.

Recommended Reading - SEC Targets CEO Succession Plans - New Risks for Boards, Says Heidrick & Struggles

Heidrick and Struggles, the high end executive recruiter and consulting firm, put out a press release today entitled, SEC Targets CEO Succession Plans - New Risks for Boards. According to the firm’s release,

“There is a whole new level of risk for corporate boards that could stem from the SEC’s legal bulletin this week, ushering in a sea change in how directors will view CEO succession planning,” says Stephen Miles, Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggles and Managing Partner of the firm’s leadership advisory services.

The release goes on to examine what companies might need to do to respond to the SEC legal notice that came out October 27th. While Heidrick and Struggles might have a point about the risks companies face with regard to the notice, the reality is companies functioning properly with regard to CEO succession have little to be concerned with. Company boards should stay on top of the SEC notice.