Finding a qualified female CFO for an international role has historically been one of the most challenging executive search mandates. Traditional search firms take 8 to 12 weeks, operate on retainer fees, and often present homogeneous shortlists that underrepresent female candidates. This guide walks CHROs and CEOs through a faster, more effective approach.

Why Female CFO Searches Fail

Most executive search firms draw from the same networks. When diversity is an afterthought rather than a design principle, female candidates are systematically underrepresented in shortlists — not because they don’t exist, but because the search methodology isn’t built to find them.

A Dedicated Database Changes Everything

Female Executive Search (www.female-executive-search.com), powered by CEO Worldwide, maintains a dedicated pool of vetted female C-level executives across 183 countries. Every candidate has been verified through professional reference checks and competency interviews.

The result: a curated shortlist of qualified female CFO candidates delivered within 7–10 business days of your search mandate.

What to Include in Your Search Mandate

To receive the most relevant shortlist, your mandate should specify:

• Geography (country or region of assignment)
• Industry sector and company size
• Interim or permanent placement
• Language requirements – Key competencies (M&A experience, IPO readiness, cost transformation, etc.)

Submit Your Search Today

Submit your female executive search mandate at www.female-executive-search.com/hire-a-female-executive/submit-a-search-mandate/ and receive your first shortlist within 7–10 business days.

5 Lessons to Learn from SpaceX’s Leadership Strategy

SpaceX’s approach is not just about rockets; it’s about a philosophy of leadership that fosters innovation, resilience, and a deep commitment to purpose. In this article, Ankoor Dasguupta explore five invaluable lessons from SpaceX’s leadership strategy, providing insights that can inspire leaders at every level.
Read more

How to Organize a Board of Directors

In today’s fiercely competitive and ever-changing business landscape, adapting to industry trends is crucial for success. One effective way to keep your company current is by establishing a board of directors. Though it may seem daunting at first, with some knowledge and training, you can quickly form a successful board. This article will cover the definition of a board of directors, its importance, and steps to create an effective one.
Read more

Championing Diversity in Leadership: An Exclusive Interview with France Dequilbec

In today’s fast-changing corporate world, companies that embrace diversity in leadership don’t just meet quotas – they gain a competitive edge. But how can businesses successfully attract and retain top female executives? In this insightful interview with Entrepreneur Mirror, France Dequilbec, the Managing Director at Female Executive Search, shares her expertise on breaking barriers in executive recruitment.
Read the full interview here

Stay Connected: New Contact Numbers in France and the USA

We’re excited to share an important update: our contact numbers in France and the USA are changing! As we grow and evolve, we’re ensuring you can always reach us seamlessly. Please update your records with our new details:

• France: ‪+33 1 84 74 67 05
• USA: +1 645 205 2025

This is more than a number switch—it’s our commitment to staying connected with you, our valued network. Have questions or need assistance? Reach out via our new lines. Thank you for being part of our journey!

The CEO Worldwide Team.

How Can We Better Measure The Impact Of Workplace Diversity And Inclusion?

One of the mistakes that a lot of companies make is only focusing on Diversity and neglecting Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. A diverse and inclusive company isn’t just focused on talent acquisition.

You can hire a diverse team, but if you don’t take the steps to make sure they feel seen, heard and included, they will leave. Here’s how to address that… Open Blog Post

How Men Can Be More Inclusive Leaders

Male leaders – and men more broadly – are increasingly expected to pursue gender inclusion and equity through deliberate allyship with women. Fortunately, there are ways you can set yourself up to be an inclusive leader and ally. Here are four inclusive leadership strategies to follow… Open Blog Post

We Can Help You Diversify Your Board

Diversifying your board has never been more important – and we can help you make that happen! Have a look at the Female Executives you could hire and contact us today to learn more about our 30% hiring fee discount, and how we can support your growth… Browse Candidates

Research: Adding Women to the C-Suite Changes How Companies Think

Research has shown that firms with more women in senior positions are more profitable, more socially responsible, and provide safer, higher-quality customer experiences — among many other benefits.

So, why is having women in the C-suite so powerful?… Open Blog Post

Building Better Boards: Why Firms Must Accelerate Diversity in Leadership

It’s not just mentoring that helps boost diversity in the workplace and in boardrooms: advocacy can make a big difference too, according to psychologist and diversity expert Doyin Atewologun… Open Blog Post

How To Lead A Team In A Remote Work Environment, Successfully

How can you and your leadership team adapt to better lead your teams in a remote-first working environment? An increasingly important topic given the appeal of remote working to the post-pandemic workforce…. Open Blog Post

COVID-19 and gender equality: Countering the regressive effects

What is good for gender equality is good for the economy and society. COVID-19’s impact on women puts that into stark relief and raises critically important choices… Open Blog Post

Reimagining the C-suite for a digital-first world

The old top-down model doesn’t work in the world of remote, virtual, and distributed work. The new way of working is being built on organizational agility, flexibility, and transparency. And the change starts with the literal and figurative transformation of the C-suite. Open Blog Post

The relationship between diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace

The Wharton School, with support from Moody’s Corporation and DiversityInc, published a new study, “Improving Workplace Culture Through Evidence-Based Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practices,” examining the relationship between diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices and a variety of workplace outcomes. The study reveals key findings and provides recommendations for managerial DEI actions designed to improve workplace culture…. Open Blog Post

Corporate Governance For Growing Companies

Corporate Governance is the system of processes, activities, standards and reporting to facilitate and deliver growth in long term shareholder value by reducing risk while maintaining a flexible, efficient and effective management framework within an entrepreneurial environment… Open Expert File

Author: Frank Lewis – CEO – UK

“Diversity: Coming Soon”

In March of 2019, I visited the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) website to refresh my memory of the organization’s Vision 2025; meant to provide aspirational guidance to its members… Open Expert File

Author: Fatima Adamu-Good – Executive Consultant – USA

In March of 2019, I visited the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) website to refresh my memory of the organization’s Vision 2025; meant to provide aspirational guidance to its members. Its five pillars read as follows:

• “Effective: Occupational therapy is evidence based, client centered and cost-effective
• Leaders: ​Occupational therapy is influential in changing policies, environments, and complex systems.
• Collaborative: ​Occupational therapy excels in working with clients and within systems to produce effective outcomes.
• Accessible: Occupational therapy provides culturally responsive and customized services.
• Diversity: ​Coming soon​” (AOTA, 2019)

Upon visiting the same page on March 29th of the same year, the diversity bullet now read “​Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity:​ We are intentionally inclusive and equitable and embrace diversity in all its forms” (AOTA, 2019). It is unclear how long it took for the diversity bullet to be filled in, it is sheer coincidence that I happened to notice it before it was amended. It was as recently as October of 2018 that the AOTA’s board of directors voted to make the words ​diversity​ and inclusive​ more explicit. I write this article because as a therapist who began practicing occupational therapy (OT) in late 2018 at the age of thirty-seven, it is in this profession that I have encountered my first instances of overt racial and gender discrimination in a professional setting. According to the Academic Programs Annual Data Report of academic year 2017-2018, occupational therapy students (doctoral, masters and assistant ships combined) were 6.3 percent African-American, 6.3 percent Asian, less than 1 percent Native and Pacific Islander, less than 1 percent American Indian or Alaskan Native, 7 percent other and 80 percent White (p. 10) . After the events that spurred the writing of this article, I wondered how a field with such demographics is perceived by prospective students and new clinicians of color?

As an OT graduate student, I discovered and fell in love with the specialty of hand therapy. So enthralled was I with its confluence of neurology, biomechanics and technical expertise that as a fieldwork student, I began designing and 3-D printing devices that I hoped would increase the efficacy of the rehabilitative process and reduce strain on therapists who spend hours a year crafting orthotics at the risk of the same repetitive strain injuries for which they treat their patients.On my fourth day working in a sought-after mentorship, I was taken aside and subjected to an approximately forty minute quasi-intervention by my superior that was framed as a concern for my professional growth and patient safety. The main thrust of this feedback was that I was “overly confident” and needed to learn to “humble myself” in this environment (quoted as heard). One can rightfully assume that perhaps I did in fact have a problem with ego-centric behavior. Maybe I had been given feedback or been reprimanded in the past, and had ignored advice? Keep in mind however that this was four days into my first hand therapist job; my supervisor also mentioned that his South African friend had a similar problem of coming across confident and knowledgeable. To conclude the conversation, I was told that it would be easier to manage me if I were more “passive”.

Again, I would not fault the reader for presuming that these words came at the tail end of a track record of failures on my part to provide the best care. As a new clinician, there were valuable conversations to be had about treatment protocols and rehabilitative guidelines. In light of such feedback, I spent several days agonizing over every action, every conversation with a colleague or patient; striving to understand where I had gone wrong. Interestingly, when I relayed this conversation to my Caucasian husband, his first response was “I would never have received that critique as a man”. Fearing that he was speaking from the biased perspective of being my spouse, I reached out to other friends, all competent professionals working in a variety of disciplines. The responses were unanimous in their horror, confusion and disgust. Ultimately the impact that the“confidence conversation” had on my work performance the next week was deleterious; I became painfully self-conscious, afraid that I was committing another yet-to-be-unearthed professional transgression. I was then censured for displaying a lack of confidence in my treatment planning and corresponding abilities to provide competent care to my patients.

Paradoxically, I would not be writing this article if this was where the critique ended. After all, skewed gender expectations are simply part of life as a female in a patriarchal society no matter the social justice strides of the last century. As I resigned myself to becoming more humble and passive as counseled, I learned that my supervisor was asking his peers if he should mention that my “hair might be too big of a statement for someone new to be making”. This query fascinates me because it suddenly placed the critiques of my behavior from the previous week in a new light. One irony of my circumstance is that the occupational therapy profession prides itself on utilizing a more holistic approach than other medical disciplines. We are taught to consider all aspects of the patient’s/client’s world, from values, spirituality, rituals and socioeconomic status in order to craft the most efficacious client-centered approach possible. How ironic that my OT supervisor was not viewing me with the same lens.

How does my story relate to efforts to diversify the OT workforce? Sadly they are symptoms of a larger problem that encapsulates the issue of a lack of diversity in many workplaces in the United States of America. As a city planner working for a high-profile organization, the subject of my hair and/or personality arose exactly zero times in three years. Compare this to the six days total I spent working as a hand therapist before deciding that, despite my passion and eagerness to succeed, I had encountered an atmosphere that was too toxic to foster significant professional growth without sacrificing my mental health. Scientific studies show that the toll of navigating such race-related societal pitfalls has real implications for the lifespan and health of African-Americans. According to a 2017 study and poll by the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, blacks have poorer health and die sooner than whites in America, in part due to the cumulative experiences of discrimination such as being unfairly stopped by the police, unfair firings, having people act as if they fear you or repeatedly feeling that you are treated with less courtesy than others (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017) . Given this state of affairs, I am left questioning if these sorts of experiences are the sort of obstacles I should expect to wrestle with in my professional future or if it is a once in a lifetime occurrence.

It is not sufficient to pat ourselves on the back for interviewing or hiring an applicant of color. African-American women have been labeled many things over the years; they are “too much”of something; too fertile, too loud, too angry, too promiscuous, too fat, too sexual (Ashley, 2014). Take a moment to consider the “professional” critiques that I was given through this hyperbolic lens. Hopefully, it becomes apparent why the focus on my personality with my disruptive hair becomes not just about the preferences of a single workplace, but rather a potential indictment of my very existence as a woman of color. As an individual of largely West African descent my hair is often styled in an Afro, in the tightly-coiled texture in which it grows out of my scalp. In order to label an Afro a statement, one must be so acclimated to, and oblivious to a certain “baseline” that the sight of my hair would be disconcerting. What is the baseline? Straight, wavy, bouncy, sleek; the hair we see in hair commercials and slick magazine advertisements? Contrary to my supervisor’s presumptions, my Afro is the result of no hidden agenda to seek attention, no special hairspray or pomade; simply a comb. Just as dreadlocks do in fact get washed on a regular basis (a contrary assumption made by yet another supervisor), Afros are not the result of some extra effort to standout.

In early 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCHR) instituted a law banning hairstyle-based discrimination by employers, schools among other public spaces. The press release for the new law states:

“Bans or restrictions on natural hair or hairstyles associated with Black people are often rooted in White standards of appearance and perpetuate racist stereotypes that black hairstyles are unprofessional. Such policies exacerbate anti-Black bias in employment, in school, while playing sports, and in other areas of daily living” (p.1)

The release goes on further to specify locks, twists, afros, and other hairstyles that have been labelled “disruptive, unhygienic, messy or unkempt” by the supervisors and colleagues of black employees (NYCHRL, 2019).

The fact that the problem’s magnitude requires such a law leaves me wary, and yet hopeful that new levels of awareness can be reached. There is a societal lack of understanding of the extent to which the texture of Black hair has been tamed to adapt to Caucasian standards over the centuries by sizzling hot combs, toxic chemicals that bare the scalp, destroy hair follicles an​d the millions of dollars spent on wigs and weaves. In 2017 Black consumers s​pent $54.4 million dollars on ethnic hair care and beauty aids or 85.65% while making up 14% of the general population (Nielsen, 2018). Although it is now considered trendy to include a model of color with Afro hair in an advertisement, the choice to embrace one’s “natural” hair is still viewed as an act of rebellion by some sectors of the African-American community.

The 2015 Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics states that AOTA members are “committed to promoting inclusion, participation, safety, and well-being for all recipients in various stages of life, health and illness and to empowering all beneficiaries of service to meet their occupational needs” (AOTA, 2015). In the fifteen years of my professional life before coming to the field of OT, I felt empowered to do what gave me joy and took for granted the mental and emotional energy I could focus on honing my craft or technical skills. As a city planner and then as a yoga instructor who specialized in teaching those with paralysis, degenerative nerve conditions and amputations,my coworkers and supervisors judged the quality, quantity and speed of my work or the safety and efficacy of my yoga classes. My value as an employee and colleague was not dependent on whether my personality broached some personal, racially-tinged preference for a passive demeanor or if my hair challenged narrow, ill-informed ideas of how my hair should be styled.

My experiences as an OT thus far have left me disillusioned and despairing. The AOTA’s Board of Directors formally added explicit language about inclusivity to the Vision 2025 statement on November 1st 2018, suggesting that this is still a very novel issue with which the profession as a whole grapples. A full one hundred years of the profession had transpired prior, culminating in much celebratory fanfare on a national scale in the summer of 2018. . The text on inclusivity states that OT “maximizes health, well-being and quality of life for all people, populations and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living” (AOTA,2018). In order to effectively execute this component of the vision, it is critical that we first recognize the current professional climate that inevitably results from the dominance of a particular demographic, no matter how uncomfortable. As students of this profession we learn to consider the individual as a dynamic product of their context/environment, occupations, performance patterns, performance skills and client factors (S4, OTPF, 2013). It is this perspective that leads to occupational therapists being prized on interdisciplinary healthcare teams for their ability to consider elements outside the standard medical model that might affect the efficacy and outcomes of care.

As we strive to recruit more students of color, are we considering the tenor of the professional world they are being sent into? This is a question relevant not just to OT, but other disciplines that complain of persistent homogeneity amongst their ranks. The process of recognizing and admitting our conscious and subconscious biases can be difficult, scary and painful. This is probably why many of us avoid it at all costs. A key component of making a profession more attractive to prospective candidates is to educate, hire and retain individuals that reflect the multi-cultural utopia one is seeking to create. Universities and organizations should not simply pat themselves on the back for hiring one more candidate of color or for having a slightly more diverse classroom. If we are to presume that this is where the work ends, it is to embrace a level of naïveté that is untenable in the world we live. The aforementioned experiences in the field thus far have left me incensed and more importantly, disappointed and saddened.

The profession’s seven core values remind us repeatedly to consider all aspects of a patient’s existence in order to treat them with​ altruism​ and provide ​equal​ treatment, respect their right to​ freedom​, ​justice​, ​dignity​ and ​truth ​while exercising ​prudence ​(AOTA, 2015). How unfortunate that it appears we struggle to turn the same therapeutic lens onto our colleagues in order to treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve, no matter their cultural background, skin color, gender or hairstyle.

References:

• American Occupational Therapy Association. AOTA unveils vision 2025. Retrieved from: https://aota.org/AboutAOTA/vision-2025.aspx
• American Journal of Occupational therapy. (2015). Occupational therapy code of ethics. Vol. 69, 691341003p1-6913410030p8. doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.696S03.
• American Occupational Therapy Association. (2014). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process.American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl. 1), S1–S48.https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.682006
• Ashley, W. (2014) The angry black woman: The impact of pejorative stereotypes on psychotherapy with black women. [Abstract]. ​Social Work in Public Health​, 29:1,27-34, DOI: ​10.1080/19371918.2011.619449
• Harvison, Neil. (2018). Academic programs annual data report: Academic year 2017–2018. Division of Professional Affairs, American Occupational Therapy Association. Bethesda, MD. Retrieved from: https://www.aota.org/~/media/Corporate/Files/EducationCareers/Educators/2017-2018-Annual-Data-Report.pdf
• Nielsen Newswire. Black impact: Consumer categories where African Americans move markets. February 2018. Demographics; Retrieved from https://nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/black-impact-consumer-categories-where-african-americans-move-markets.html
• NYC Commission on Human Rights Legal Enforcement Guidance on Race Discrimination on the Basis of Hair. NYC Commission on Human Rights. February 2019. Retrieved from: NYC.gov/humanrights
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Discrimination Pervades Daily Life, Affects Health Across Groups in the U.S., NPR/Harvard/RWJF Poll Shows. October 24th 2017. Retrieved from https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2017/10/discrimination-pervades-daily-life–affects-health-across-groups.html

C-suite recruitment can be notoriously difficult. The search for those that are going to be sitting in the highest-level leadership roles is not one to be taken lightly. It is vital to find people to take on the demands of these positions that are qualified, skilled, experienced and that will also fit well into the team and the culture of your company. 

Not only that, with the evolving nature of roles in the C-suite, new challenges crop up over time too. For example, there are indications that CEOs of the future need to have a stronger understanding and focus on marketing. Tesco Chief Executive Dave Lewis was the marketer responsible for Unilever’s hugely successful Dove’s Real Beauty campaign, and Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe was formerly the Marketing Director at Tesco. Figures show that 21% of European Chief Execs have a marketing background – up from 15% in 2011. 

It is also no longer the case that CEOs must grow for years with the brands they come to manage. “CEOs are a broad bunch, but there’s an appreciation they no longer need to ‘serve their time’ like they used to,” says Brenda Trenowden, former managing director of Lloyds Banking Group. “Nowadays, being at one company all your life could work against you. They need broader experience. They have to grasp technology better and be more versatile.”

So, with the roles evolving and an increasingly candidate-led market, what are five of the challenges you should be preparing for in 2020 and beyond (putting aside Coronavirus)?

1. Competition 

Executives know they are in demand and that they can not only pick between job offers but also hold great power during negotiations. It is important that you, as a company in the market for a new C-suite employee, have an understanding of what a competitive C-suite package looks like in 2020. This includes knowing what salary is reasonable to offer, as well as other benefits that CEOs and similar would expect in return for their expertise. In 2020, this could be a more flexible role with more WFH time and flexibility to enable them to achieve an optimal work/life balance. Other factors include health benefits, holiday allowance, shares, retirement plans, and bonuses. 

And, with Millennials and Gen Z rising through the ranks and ultimately ending up in C-suite and leadership positions, an understanding of their wants and needs when it comes to remuneration is also important. Are you offering prospective employees modern remuneration packages that are putting you above your competition?

It’s also important to offer a working environment that rivals your competitor’s offering. You’re competing for top executive talent, and to be able to keep up it’s vital that you cultivate a strong employer brand that makes talent want to work with you. This means ensuring that your culture, environment, and values inspire executive candidates to want to join you. Do you have strong values, and does your company live and breathe them? Are you doing enough to advertise your amazing company culture in a way that makes people think “I’d love to work there?” 

2. Millennials in leadership 

Something else to be considered is the influx of Millennials and Gen Z into leadership roles. As baby boomers retire, it’s up to Millennials and Gen Z employees to take the helm, which is going to create big changes company-wide. These generations tend to be less dictatorial than their predecessors may have been and will likely be looking to step away from “traditional” top-down structures into flatter management structures and a more collaborative and transparent working environment. 

In terms of recruitment and bringing in younger talent with differing attitudes towards management, communication, work/life balance, and feedback, this could be a whole scale company change. Are you ready to embrace new views, and challenges to your current infrastructure, policies, and long-held ways of working? 

3. Skills gap 

As mentioned earlier, older generations retiring means that the younger generations are having to step into leadership roles. The problem with this is that many aren’t prepared or trained to make this transition. Meaning the candidate pools for these roles, already quite small and easily exhausted, only continue to shrink. 

It’s up to companies to create programs that will develop the skills within the workforce that will generate the leaders of tomorrow.

Until then, it is executive recruitment companies that are able to assist in filling your C-suite requirements, thanks to pools of pre-vetted, qualified candidates that give you the opportunity to select candidates that you know to have the skills, experience, and personality to succeed within your company. 

4. Diversity

Diversity, equality, and inclusion are hot topics, and rightly so. It is not only something that shareholders, customers, employees, and potential employees want to see – there are now laws and regulations in place or being planned worldwide. These include gender quotas, a regulation that has proved effective in many countries, including France, Iceland, and Norway. 

This begs the question; does your leadership team currently reflect your market and your customers? Studies show that diversity does increase the bottom line for companies, and that “increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance.” 

It can be a challenge to get past the unconscious biases still apparent when it comes to leadership and C-suite positions, but it is worthwhile undertaking the training and doing the research to understand the many benefits of a diverse leadership team and the positive effect it has on the performance and productivity of your company. 

5. Location/relocation

Another difficulty in recruiting top executive talent is location. If you’re based in a lesser-known location, you could face difficulty in “selling” your opportunity to candidates that have previously worked in bustling cities and are unsure of a move to a sleepier small town. 

There are a lot of factors to be considered when relocating, as well as a potential need to adjust to a new lifestyle – such as that of moving from a city to a town or vice versa – as well as the need to take partners and children into account. A big move would require research into potential roles for other family members, local schools, colleges, and the general quality of life available in the area. This is without an understanding of the affordability of relocation, and the suitability and availability of housing. Plus, there’s, even more, to consider in an international move, like visas, work permits, and other necessary paperwork. 

To combat this, ensure that you have this information available before you approach candidates. The more information you can provide, the more you can alleviate any anxiety around a relocation. 

Conclusion

C-suite recruitment presents a unique set of challenges., but it’s a worthwhile endeavor that is worth the time, effort, and expense to recruit the right person to lead your company to future success. It takes strategy and creativity, which is something we can help you with! 

First and foremost, it can be difficult to find qualified candidates who are willing to relocate to a company’s headquarters.

In addition, c-suite executives are often reluctant to leave their current position for a new one, even if it is a better opportunity. As a result, c-suite recruiters must be creative in their sourcing and outreach efforts. They may need to tap into their personal networks or use social media to reach potential candidates.

Additionally, c-suite recruiters must be prepared to offer competitive compensation packages that include relocation assistance and other perks.

By understanding the challenges involved in c-suite recruitment, companies can be better positioned to find the right executives for their needs.

We can connect you with the best vetted executive talent from all over the planet, whether that be for a permanent position or an interim role. Please get in touch today to learn more about how we can help you find the perfect candidate for your C-suite needs, or check out our website to find out more.