
C-suites are adding roles and duties at a rapid clip as companies face a host of new and emerging issues that require enhanced top-down oversight.
Indeed, executive leadership teams grew 23% between 2018 to 2023, while the number of skills requested for C-suite roles grew 20% over the same time period, according to a new report from Deloitte.
“This [expansion] reflects the increasing complexity of business, regulatory demands and the need for specialized leadership,” wrote Paul Silvergate, U.S. head of executive accelerators at Deloitte, in an email. However, “organizations are balancing expansion with the need for streamlined leadership structures with some roles continuing to gain prominence as companies adapt to evolving priorities.”
“As fiduciaries of the business, boards need to balance these immediate pressures with long-term strategy, ensuring that any expansion of the C-suite isn’t just reactive but genuinely value-adding,” wrote Shawn Cole, president and co-founder of executive search firm Cowen Partners, in an email.
“The board’s role is to ensure that executive leadership remains lean, effective and aligned with the company’s mission. If the decision to create a new role is driven more by external pressures than strategic necessity, it risks being a short-lived experiment.”
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Shawn is a trusted leader in executive search, known for his ability to drive success through strategic leadership. With over 20 years of experience founding and leading successful companies, he has been frequently quoted in Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal. Shawn’s deep business acumen and forward-thinking approach make him a key partner for organizations looking to build high-impact leadership teams.
Shawn is President and Co-Founder of Cowen Partners, a national executive search firm. Clients across the globe trust Cowen Partners to take their organizations to the next level by finding them top executive talent, such as a CEO, CFO, COO, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer. Clients are both small and large, publicly traded, pre-IPO, private, and non-profit organizations, typically $50 million to multi-billion dollar revenue Fortune 1000 companies or have assets over $1 billion.
Cowen Partners is a leader among the nation’s best CFO executive search firms, enabling companies to harness the power of human capital to fuel their success.
Cowen Partners gives our clients access to the top 1% of human capital to create opportunities that accelerate their growth and market share. With Cowen Partners, clients can grow at scale, create value, and drive results with world class talent. Our clients are both small and large, publicly traded, pre-IPO, private, and non-profit organizations.
Clients are typically $50 million to multi-billion dollar revenue Fortune 1000 companies or have assets between $500 million to $15 billion. Successful placements span the entire C-Suite and include VP and director level leadership roles.
With our proven processes and guaranteed results, we have successfully placed hundreds of candidates in industries including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, financial services, and private equity.
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