A new survey has flagged a looming leadership gap in Nordic and Benelux boardrooms, finding that half of directors doubt their current chief executive has the skills their company will need over the next two to three years. The findings, from the search firm Heidrick & Struggles, point to unease about whether leadership is keeping pace with change.
Chief executives in these regions tend to serve longer than their peers elsewhere in Europe. The survey noted that leaders in Sweden and Norway average around seven years in the role, while Belgian chief executives average about nine.
The report also highlighted a strong preference for promoting internal candidates to the top job. In the Netherlands, the average tenure of internal candidates before reaching the chief executive role rose from about nine and a half years in 2023 to nearly fifteen by 2025.
Analysts tied the perceived gap to slower leadership transitions that may not match the pace of change in geopolitics, technology, and strategy. Boards that move cautiously, the survey suggested, risk falling behind faster-shifting conditions.
The findings add to a broader debate about succession planning at large companies. For Nordic boards in particular, the results raise questions about how to balance stability with the need for fresh leadership.
