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Introduction

Hiring a CEO to join your company can have a far-reaching impact on the business’s success. The right person not only should have the ideas and experience to increase your bottom line but must also be a cultural fit who can work effectively with the leadership team.

In this article, we cover the questions that test the core capabilities a CEO is typically expected to possess: revenue strategy, stakeholder communication, product innovation, crisis management, and market knowledge. 

It’s important to include a mix of competency and scenario-based questions, and assess answers according to your industry, growth stage, and top business needs. For example, a large enterprise facing increasing threats from more agile startups may require a CEO experienced in changing market positioning while maintaining financial stability.

What’s the first change you’d make in this company and why?

A CEO should be comfortable with change whilst maintaining the integrity of the business’s cash flow and industry position. What this question tests is how well they understand the company, approach market opportunities, and prioritize tasks. Thus, interviewers should look out for answers discussing elements such as untapped customer needs, value chain improvements, and operational efficiency.

Furthermore, if the candidate makes suggestions that aren’t at the top of management’s agenda, consider whether this could rejuvenate your business – take Steve Jobs’ second tenure at Apple, for example, which was the result of needing to introduce unconventional thinking into a stagnating business, just as CustomWritings writing service embraces innovative ideas and unconventional approaches to stay ahead in the dynamic market landscape.

The company’s supply chain has been disrupted – what would you do during the first week?

Questions around crisis scenarios, which could also include losing a major client or ceasing operations in a geographical region, can assess candidates’ on-the-spot thinking. The disruption of a supply chain, in this case, is a critical business issue requiring decisive action on alternative supply options, corporate communications strategy, labor surpluses, and cost reduction.

Depending on the type of business you’re in, you could expand this question into a case study. For example, a financial services company could ask for estimates on potential losses and comparative analyses for the suggested solutions.

What do you think is our customer’s biggest problem and how would you tackle it?

Testing the potential CEO’s understanding of customer needs can ensure revenue flows will increase from current and future product lines. This is an opportunity to integrate analytical and creative thinking, with answers touching on end-to-end customer journeys, product-market fit, and digital solutions.

For instance, a candidate interviewing for a supermarket chain may describe the customer’s need for product availability and fast service, in the context of competitive pressure from online shopping and delivery services. Listen out for solutions involving collaboration, quality control, and the big-picture vision guiding the argument.

You are at odds with the board over the company’s 5-year strategy – how would you get its members on your side?

Conflicts of opinion are common, and the people making top-level decisions must possess the skills to reach compromises effectively. Specifically, this question checks the candidate’s persuasion capability, which may be especially useful if the business needs a bold change of direction.

A comprehensive answer would suggest a hypothetical scenario – say, a product line expansion – and a specific point of disagreement. The candidate’s persuasion methods can then be put into context, which may include the use of research, financial projections, negotiation tactics, non-verbal communication, and one-to-one relationship building.

If you were to incubate a startup in this company, what would it be and why?

This question tests the candidate’s creativity and out-of-the-box thinking by asking them to come up with a new product, business model, or target customer which complements the company’s existing focus. 

Look out for the strategic approach in their answer – for example, a solution that fills a market gap without cannibalizing the holding company’s revenue. A focus on complementary customer profiles and pricing levels is a must, as seen in large telecom companies’ sub-brands, including Vodafone’s Voxi business in the UK. Equally, the boldness and ambition of the proposed idea should be taken into account.

What was the most difficult decision you’ve made in your career so far?

The CEO role involves making decisions on a daily basis, from hiring strategy to market pivots. If the candidate has prepared thoroughly, they might describe a decision that’s relevant to your company’s circumstances – such as responding to fast-growing market entrants that are squeezing prices and acquiring incumbents’ customers.

As with most competency-based questions, this answer should follow a clear STAR structure: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Furthermore, it should specify the frameworks and skills that the candidate used to make the decision.

How do you get the best out of different personality types?

Whilst companies tend to hire according to a list of values and traits, it’s inevitable that a CEO will work with people of various personality types. So this answer can showcase leadership capabilities that the candidate can use to increase productivity and reduce staff turnover.

For example, an effective answer could show awareness of the Myers-Briggs or other personality models, and how the candidate thinks each type is best motivated, challenged, and compensated. They can also substantiate their claims by referring to past projects where they engaged with different personality types – such as debaters, mediators, and entrepreneurs.

What trends do you see in the industry – 1 year, 5 years, and 20 years from now?

In-depth industry knowledge isn’t always a requirement for CEO roles, since transferable skills, such as customer orientation, have more of an impact on the bottom line. Famously, the IBM CEO opening in 1993 didn’t go to obvious industry choices, such as Ben Rosen from Compaq, but was filled and successfully executed by former American Express executive Lou Gerstner.

That said, a well-prepared candidate understands the macro-level market trends that affect the business. For example, the candidate may structure this answer using analysis frameworks such as PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological factors) or Porter’s Five Forces (bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, and threat of substitution and new entry, causing competitive rivalry), as well as more specialized frameworks developed during their tenure.

Best Questions To Ask a CEO: Conclusion

Understanding what the company needs from an incoming CEO and adapting the questions to business circumstances is a crucial first step. However, in many cases, the commander-in-chief is required to demonstrate a combination of abilities across growth strategy, market understanding, people skills, and crisis management.

When faced with specific business scenarios, your ideal candidate will strike a balance between creative problem-solving and hard knowledge, such as management theory. Additionally, competency-based questions testing leadership and persuasion skills can help assess whether they are the right fit for your team.

Executive recruitment is an odd business. The industry serves some of the most exciting, innovative and technologically advanced companies in the world. And yet headhunters stubbornly refuse to adopt widely available technology that could significantly enhance their service.

There are numerous areas executive recruiters can improve upon, but none have quite the same potential to revolutionize the market as video conferencing.

The best businesses start with the client. How can they make their lives easier? How can they make a service quicker and more flexible? How do they make it more cost-effective?

For executive recruitment, video interviewing answers all of the above.

Online video facilitates a greater number of immersion sessions and interviews; it’s faster, cheaper and more thorough (at the sourcing stage) than face-to-face meetings.

So what’s holding the industry back?

Face-to-face interviews don’t guarantee ROI

There is still too much reliance on face-to-face interviews, among clients and recruiters alike.

It’s not surprising, really. They’re the intuitive option. But it’s easy to fall prey to subjective reasoning, rather than pragmatic decision making.

Successful businesses are accustomed to choosing investments or products that offer the highest return. They do this by limiting emotional factors, assessing the evidence and making rational decisions; is paying the highest price for the perceived ‘best’ product really always the optimal solution? Or can another solution meet your requirements for a fraction of the price?

Video conferencing enables you to ‘look candidates in the eye’ and put them on the spot – offering most of the advantages of face-to-face meetings at a fraction of the cost. This is particularly valuable when managing cross-border placements.

Remote interviews are not necessarily a direct replacement, but a compelling additional tool that can streamline and reinforce the process up until the final round of face-to-face interviews.

Interviews should be supported by a stringent vetting process

Handshakes only recognize deals; they shouldn’t seal them. Charisma can often trump competence and holes can appear when the interview performance is a distant memory.

Video conferencing enables recruiters to assess far more candidates – in greater detail – and for clients to review many more than they would face-to-face in the same time, not least on the same budget.

It also allows candidates to communicate their personalities and experience, while sharing engaging content and thought leadership that can prove their credentials.

Overcoming perception around video conferencing to focus on value

Video interviews allow employers to refine a broad talent pool and progress only the very best potential candidates to the final round. When considered objectively, the only real barrier to widespread implementation is perception; the world of executive recruitment is still fixated on tradition, at the expense of evolution.

Clients and recruiters alike are ready for a change in mindset as well as technology. For all but the highest level, most politically influenced appointments, video meets or exceeds the needs of businesses and candidates and should form a key component of the process.

It’s time to critically assess the objections, realize the opportunity and reap the rewards.