CEOs no longer generals: the rise of change orchestrators

Chief executives, who used to be seen as generals leading their armies into battles about 20 or 30 years ago, are now more like orchestrators as the businesses they run have become increasingly complex, Constantine Alexandrakis, chief executive officer (CEO) of Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the world's largest executive search firms, told Mint in an exclusive interview.

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He also touched on job market hesitancy, whether ageism is rising, the encouraging shifts in succession planning in India, and the dawn of AI. Excerpts: In a blog post, you wrote that CEO roles are increasingly complex and even fraught, and that the idea of the sole, heroic leader is long outdated. Why?" About 20-30 years ago in Western companies, the CEO was viewed as the hero. Today, it has become more evident as businesses become more complex that the CEO is an orchestrator, not a general.

A CEO needs to bring along an entire leadership team and entire company to drive a change. In the old days, the CEO was seen as the pinnacle of the pyramid. Now, to be effective, the CEO needs to work from the centre of the pyramid outwards.