In September 2025, Oracle promoted its co-CEOs below the watchful eye of Chairman Larry Ellison. The press dutifully praised this “visionary succession planning.”
Visionary. That’s one phrase for it. One other may be: theater.
As a result of actual succession planning doesn’t require the founder to remain on as chairman. Actual succession planning means letting go of the wheel, not simply loosening your grip whereas everybody pretends to not discover your white knuckles.
Boardrooms throughout company America proceed to find this development. Two leaders share what was meant to be a solo act. They name it progressive, however dance across the reality: the title in hand with actual authority is left on the founder’s desk.
The most costly consequence of all is the next-gen leaders who’re CEOs in title solely. Till boards cease mistaking twin titles for belief, the phrase “succession” will stay bureaucratic theater.
The Boomerang Phenomenon
Boards despise uncertainty. When disruption hits, they attain for acquainted faces. Therefore, Howard Schultz‘s return to Starbucks and Bob Iger‘s emergency summons to Disney. These Child BOOMERang CEOs are maybe introduced again to calm the waters.
The attraction is apparent. Boards crave predictability, simply as politicians crave polls. Recognized portions ship recognized outcomes. Or so the pondering goes. Plus, there’s the consolation of institutional reminiscence and legacy preservation. Such a reflex is kind of the alternative of forward-looking management. It broadcasts, loud and clear,
“We might somewhat rewind the clock than belief what comes subsequent”.
What if there isn’t any reliable boomer to name again? The board improvises a Plan B. They undertake the co-CEO mannequin. Then they hope that collectively the 2 gained’t tangle. However make no mistake, a co-CEO setup is usually a hedge.
The Rise of the Co-CEO Mannequin
This hedging technique is now turning into a visual sample. It continues to multiply, as seen in current bulletins from Spotify and Comcast. Not as a result of two heads are higher than one, however as a result of boards need to preserve management. Though the metrics ought to immediate any board to rethink.
Public firms with co-CEOs stay a tiny fraction. They’re about 4% of the Fortune 500.
Take Oracle’s current transfer for instance. This September, the corporate promoted Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co-CEOs. The CEO, Safra Catz, sidestepped the position of govt vice-chairman. A title that preserves board oversight but additionally creates the phantasm of change.
The reasoning supplied was convincing, although. One govt would lead cloud infrastructure. The opposite would oversee industry-specific AI functions. However solely below board supervision.
The sample just isn’t new. Salesforce appointed co-CEOs in 2018 and 2021. Just for one to step down. The founder Marc Benioff resumed full management in 2023. SAP additionally experimented earlier than reverting to a sole CEO in 2020.
The board arithmetic is obvious. Distribute energy to dilute possession. Hold institutional reminiscence shut sufficient to intervene. What follows is equally clear: accountability evaporates throughout a number of leaders. Resolution velocity collapses below twin approvals. Daring strikes die in compromise.
That inspiring imaginative and prescient of next-gen management? It has now been transformed right into a consolation blanket for boards. They’d somewhat hedge than hand over the keys.
The Generational Energy Hole
The fault strains run deeper. Boards are nonetheless overwhelmingly populated by Child Boomers. The incoming CEOs are principally Gen X or Millennials. A mismatch arises wherein energy lies with the older cohort, but the titles slide to the youthful leaders.
Youthful leaders inherit the stage however not the route. Boards belief legacy expertise over rising expertise. Mentorship is rebranded as oversight, and the C-suite turns into the brand new center administration in such a dynamic.
Co-CEOs imply every is much less accountable and extra constrained. All of the whereas, the board holds the purse strings, rationalizing this as collaborative management.
The incoming govt just isn’t a lot a CEO as a CEO-in-waiting. Sure, the title is awarded, however authority is retained elsewhere.
The Penalties
When management is conditional, penalties additionally ripple by way of the group.
Blurred Accountability
Who owns what when two individuals share the highest job? The shortage of singular readability plagues co-CEO fashions. Choices are delayed and duty is fragmented.
Alerts Mistrust
When a board splits the job somewhat than handing over the reins, the message trickles down,
“You’re allowed the title however not the complete seat on the desk”.
This stifles audacity and breeds warning. The tradition shifts towards governance and management.
Stifled Innovation
When energy resides with the boards, each initiative is vetted and accepted earlier than it goes reside. Which may scale back errors. But it surely additionally stalls momentum. A CEO who should search permission at each flip is, at greatest, a Chief Danger-Supervisor.
Symbolic Succession
Two younger co-CEOs could paint a succession story. But when the board retains middle stage, it’s solely a photograph op, not a metamorphosis. The job title and workplace could change, but the ability dynamic stays static.
What Boards Ought to Do As an alternative?
Boards should do higher. They should execute on three decisive shifts.
- Implement Steady Succession Readability
Don’t wait till a disaster. Determine, develop, and empower next-gen leaders early. Give them chunks of management somewhat than ceremonial titles. The purpose is rarely simply naming the CEO; it’s about empowering them. It’s conforming their talents to run issues from day one. Designate clear possession in addition to timelines and efficiency milestones. - Separate Management from Oversight
Give the incoming CEO greater than a title. Give them a finances and direct board entry. If the board retains useful management by way of twin management, then the transition is merely a formality. - Refresh Board Demographic and Mindset
Introduce recent views amongst the board.
If the board itself stays caught in a Nineteen Eighties mindset, the management construction will replicate that. Belief is generational. A peer-to-peer dynamic among the many board members and next-gen leaders works higher.
Passing the title is not the identical as passing the torch. Boards should not mistake one for the opposite. Or they may proceed to supply CEOs who seem like making progress however in the end serve as placeholders.
Ending Remarks
Again at Oracle, the transfer to co-CEOs appeared daring. It ticked each progressive field on paper. But it might simply be a brand new option to maintain on. Two names on the letterhead can’t disguise one hand nonetheless on the lever.
Till boards confront their very own worry of irrelevance, the co-CEO will stand as company theatre. Fashionable staging with the identical previous script. The following era of leaders doesn’t want co-pilots. They want boards keen to take their palms off the yoke.
Written by Shawn Cole.
