Is Your Mobility Program Ready for Your Next CEO?

As highlighted in Korn Ferry's recent article, "The Great CEO Exodus...Continues",  we're witnessing a historic shift in leadership at the highest levels of organizations. January alone saw 222 CEOs stepping down. That's the highest monthly figure in over two decades. With 2,221 CEOs leaving their posts in 2024, organizations face significant disruption at a pivotal moment of generational change.

For leaders managing corporate mobility programs, this wave of CEO transitions offers an important moment for reflection. Relocating a new CEO, often alongside their family, demands a seamless experience with special care. Executive moves need to anticipate your new CEO's unique needs, reduce stress, and reinforce their decision to join the organization.

That's hard because relocation is inherently stressful, especially at the top leadership level where the stakes for a smooth transition are incredibly high. The experience you deliver not only impacts the CEO personally but reverberates throughout the organization, affecting morale, confidence, and company performance.

To succeed, corporate mobility programs must:

Be Flexible: Every CEO's relocation will involve specific personal and family considerations. Your mobility program must adapt swiftly to address these unique needs.

Prioritize Excellence: Partnering with best-in-class service providers ensures quality and reliability in every phase of the move—from logistics and real estate support to settling-in services and community integration.

Demonstrate Readiness: Your organization’s ability to smoothly relocate top executives sends a powerful message about the company's stability and preparedness during periods of significant change.

Given the intense pressures CEOs face today—ranging from economic uncertainty and empowered employees to board-level scrutiny—the relocation process must be a reassuring anchor rather than another source of tension.

Knowing this, your company needs to be prepared to relocate your next CEO.  Now is the ideal time for corporate mobility leaders to reassess if your global mobility program has the resources in place for successfully helping new leadership integrate and move into their responsibilities. 

In other words, you need a plan. Plus works alongside our clients directly to build special processes and considerations for CEOs and other high-level moves. This includes a dedicated Executive Move Management program with customizable tiers of service to deliver a premium (white glove) experience for these moves. Your program should have something similar in place for when it's needed. If your first conversations on supporting a CEO move take place after an offer is extended, it might be too late.

Because of the current level of executive turnover, now might be the right time to consider the impact that mobility can make on your company's leadership. Optimize the experience, and make sure your mobility program truly delivers at the highest level. 

For further consideration, try: Executive relocations – what to expect and how to prepare