CEO Succession: Has Grooming Talent on the Inside Gone by the Wayside?

The recent departures of two chief executives -- Stanley O’Neal of Merrill Lynch and Charles Prince of Citigroup -- in the wake of major financial losses at their firms have focused renewed attention on the issue of succession planning. Published reports speculated that both positions would be filled by outside candidates and on November 14 Merrill Lynch announced that it had chosen John Thain CEO of NYSE Euronext to succeed O’Neal. While such a move is not surprising for a board wanting to signal a fresh start to investors Wharton faculty say that increasingly companies are looking to fill top spots with external candidates while spending less time on grooming future leaders and managing talent in general.

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