We were proud to welcome Director of the Center for Executive Succession, Patrick Wright, to the EMEA Recruitment podcast.

“Our mission is to be the objective source of knowledge around the issues, challenges and best practices with regard to C-Suite succession.”

Patrick spoke to Jenny Callum, one of our Senior Consultants, and our Founder, Paul Toms, about the modern role of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and their increasing involvement in C-Suite succession.

We found out how Patrick’s career evolved from his degree in Psychology, to studying people as a source of competitive advantage in HR, to research into CEO and C-Suite succession.

As boards become more focused on CEO succession, Patrick explains that CHROs are being thrust forward and brought into the boardroom. However, most have never been through C-Suite succession. With major cultural issues over the past few years, such as the #MeToo movement, Patrick describes the new model of the CHRO role.

Through the Center for Executive Succession, Patrick conducts two types of research: quantitative and qualitative. Through surveys and focus groups, he can gather data from inside the C-Suite, to uncover a true measure on issues such as CEO narcissism.

In fact, his results have been so effective that CEOs of major corporations have kept his findings on hand for conducting their own interviews.

Patrick’s touching words about how important family is is essential listening for all professionals – be sure to share the episode with your network if you think that they’ll benefit from his advice.

You can use the timestamps below to find the section you’re most interested in:

01:15 - How did Patrick become interested in teaching and researching HR?
03:40 - Change to studying CHRO roles
07:12 - Examples of changes in CHRO roles
09:40 - How Patrick got into C-Suite succession 
14:50 - Examples of research on C-Suite succession
24:30 - Receptiveness/impact of Patrick’s studies
28:15 - Advice Patrick would’ve given to his younger self/what Patrick has learnt 
32:00 - How to connect with Patrick and access research/videos

Listen to the full episode below: 

Or at: https://emearecruitment.libsyn.com/023-patrick-wright-director-at-center-for-executive-succession-at-darla-moore-school-of-business-at-the-university-of-south-carolina

We hope that you enjoy this HR podcast episode from EMEA Recruitment.

The EMEA Recruitment podcast is hosted by the Founder of EMEA, Paul Toms, and Executive Recruiter and Senior Consultant, Jenny Callum. This episode was brought to you in partnership with international medical charity, Operation Smile. 

To find out more about EMEA Recruitment, visit: https://www.emearecruitment.com

Follow us on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emea-recruitment-limited/

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paultoms/

Or Jenny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennycallumemea

If there are any questions or topics you would like covered in future EMEA Recruitment podcast episodes, please send us a message on LinkedIn and we will look to help.