In the past, CEOs in the energy industry devoted much of their time to strategy. Today, CEOs in the sector, tell the executive search consultants from Egon Zehnder International that they spend far more of their time dealing with external stakeholders, making sure the voice of the industry is being heard by governments and managing boards that have become highly risk-averse, short-term focused and bureaucratic. As a result, "the industry faces what could become the biggest risk of all: a shortage of future chief executives and top leaders who have the requisite competencies for navigating this complex new world", write the consultants.
The role of CEO of an energy company requires new leadership skills: the ability to act as the public face of the company in an era of unprecedented "headline" risk, to diplomatically champion upside potential with wary boards that tend to focus on down-side risk, and to engage with policy makers and regulators to help the public understand energy's critical role in a growing global economy.
Many of today's energy CEOs spend more time on leadership development than ever before. They know that the typical development path of many of today?s top executives did not take into account the unforeseen changes in the CEO role. And they know that their companies have to compensate for that gap ? and soon, especially given the coming "silver tsunami" of experienced leaders retiring.
(03.05.2012) Source: Forbes
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