CEOs no longer generals: the rise of change orchestrators

AI is reshaping top leadership, and requires management of human and AI employees with skills beyond tech

- Devina Sengupta

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. 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wrote that CEO roles are increasingly complex and even fraught, and that the idea of the sole, heroic leader is long outdated.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?