In the last two months of 2022, Indian companies saw chief executive officers (CEOs) and managing directors (MDs) jump ship more than other senior executives, according to data from executive search and consulting firm Stanton Chase, shared exclusively with Moneycontrol.
Stanton Chase analysed data on about 240 C-level job changes across 200 companies that took place over the last two months and found that 70 CEOs and MDs had jumped ship. Roles in HR (37), Marketing (31) and Finance (31) were the second highest after CEOs/MDs.
C-Suite movements in HR include chief human resource officer (CHRO), HR Director roles etc. Similarly, Marketing includes the chief marketing officer (CMO) and chief finance officer (CFO) in Finance.
“Since COVID, companies have started to put more value on the top leadership to manage uncertain business environments, heightened competition due to digitalisation, an employee-friendly work environment as the war for talent gets increasingly intense, and managing short- to long-term business objectives,” Amit Agarwal, Managing Partner, Singapore & India, Stanton Chase, told Moneycontrol.
The data showed that large groups have started to find potential in smaller businesses, for which they have hired more aggressive and digitally aligned CEOs. Similarly, a lot of start-ups and mid-size companies have hired leaders to manage the next level of size.
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Also, the two-year lockdown fast-forwarded succession planning for many companies that had their CEO/ MDs closer to superannuation. “The focus has been on leaders who can lead the ship in a post-COVID business scenario,” Agarwal said.
Consumer & Industrial sector saw maximum C-Suite movements
Companies have looked at the talent that can manage a business in a post-COVID business environment. While looking for top jobs, Sustainability and ESG have started to influence hiring decisions.
The data suggests that Consumer & E-commerce hired the highest number of senior executives (64) followed by the Industrial sector, with 50 hires.
“All these sectors have seen high growth. E-commerce, for obvious reasons, BFSI due to fintech, and Industrial due to the sudden spurt in growth in the Indian economy,” Agarwal said.
Top roles in Manufacturing and Legal, such as chief manufacturing officer and chief legal officer, respectively, saw the least movement.
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“Prima facie, since Manufacturing is a mature and stable function, there haven’t been too many movements there. This is also a one-dimensional function as compared to CFO or CHRO movements, which are sector-agnostic and therefore higher in number,” Agarwal said.
Impact of the global downturn
Legal & Consulting (4), Logistics (5) and Education (6) saw the fewest hires among CXOs, mainly since the size of these sectors is smaller, Agarwal said.
“Education is only in the initial phase of its professionalisation, so movements are far and few. Travel as a sector is still reeling under the effects of COVID,” he added.
Experts at Stanton Chase feel the global downturn of the economy will certainly have some effect on overall hiring activity. “Hiring is also a function of sentiments, and international negativity impacts senior hiring plans in India,” Agarwal said.
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However, he added that owing to the “exceptional growth” that India has been experiencing, Stanton Chase does not see too much of an impact on the ground. “A few sectors, such as Telecom, have seen increased activity due to the launch of 5G. Overall, C suite hiring will continue to grow in the coming year.”
