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A disciplined approach to appointing a chief executive.
I’ve watched boards spend years debating strategy, risk, and performance, and then end up rushing the most important decision they’ll ever make. Hiring a CEO exposes everything about a board: how it thinks, how it handles uncertainty, and whether it’s willing to challenge its own assumptions.
In this book, I unpack what actually happens inside CEO selection processes: the politics, the blind spots, the quiet compromises, and why even experienced directors repeat the same mistakes. More importantly, I lay out a clearer way forward: how boards can slow down, ask better questions, and design a process that serves the future of the organization, not the comfort of the moment.
Hiring The CEO is written for chairs, directors, and nomination committees who know that judgment matters more than templates—and those who want to make a decision they won’t regret five years later.
- What CEO hiring reveals about a board’s effectiveness
- Where judgment breaks down (and why)
- How to assess leadership against future strategy, not past success
- The real trade-offs between internal and external candidates
- How boards can improve the quality of the decision, not just the process
I enjoyed reading the guide and believe it will be a useful tool for boards of directors.
Governance Expert, Conestoga College
This is going to be must read and reference for any new board member, and Chair. Many seasoned board members will find value in the practical guidelines David has put forward in The Board Director's Compass.
Board Member | Founder & CEO
About the author
David R. Beatty is one of Canada’s leading voices on corporate governance, with a career spanning five decades in boardrooms around the world.
He has chaired and served on more than 40 public and private company boards.
His work focuses on improving board effectiveness through clearer judgment, structure, and accountability.
