THE NEW RIGHT STUFF AND 11 FUTURE CEOs WHO HAVE IT

Having decades of experience isn't enough in today's shifting corporate landscape. Vulnerability, humility, and self-awareness are among the qualities that high-potential first-time CEOS must cultivate

- Geoff Colvin

IN A FAST-CHANGING world profoundly transformed by the pandemic and the blistering advance of technology, a world in which the past offers ever less guidance, the CEO's job is being reconceived.

For the star CEOs of the 21st century, success will depend heavily on their ability to confront a pair of almost contradictory requirements: They must plumb their deepest humanity, and they must foresee technology's greatest opportunities and threats. Mastering either challenge is difficult. Mastering both is extraordinary-but then, that's what CEOs are supposed to be.

"What matters for the role now is more about the intrinsics, the intangibles, and less about specific experience," says Cathy Anterasian, a CEO succession expert at the Spencer Stuart leadership consulting firm. Indeed, Anterasian cites the firm's research showing that high-potential first-time CEOs who "don't have that baggage" tend to outperform those with many years of experience, delivering higher market-adjusted total shareholder return and lower volatility. Alan Johnson, a compensation consultant, agrees: "If you've got 30 years of experience, probably the first 20 are not relevant anymore."

BIG-COMPANY TECH SUCCESS

SARAH BOND

CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, XBOX, MICROSOFT