As the corporate landscape continues to evolve, the stakes around CEO selection have never been higher. During a recent webinar hosted by CEO Academy, Dennis Carey, vice chairman of Korn Ferry, shared insights collected from his decades of experience advising Fortune 500 boards during some of their most pivotal leadership transitions.
Having spent his career steering companies away from the brink of collapse and shaping industry-defining spinoffs, Carey has had a front-row seat to the make-or-break moments that define great CEO leadership. Those experiences have given him insight into the qualities that separate truly exceptional CEOs from the rest.
Why Purpose and Courage Matter Most
Throughout the webinar, Carey underscored a central truth: Leadership isn’t just about experience; it’s about personality, vision, and the ability to listen.
He shared stories of transformative CEOs, including Alan Mulally, who engineered Ford’s turnaround after joining from Boeing; Ed Breen, who rebuilt Tyco from scandal to shareholder success; and George Buckley, who pushed 3M to recenter on innovation and growth. These leaders, Carey emphasized, had common threads: clarity of purpose, the humility to listen, and the courage to act decisively.
Their impact, Carey argued, goes beyond the numbers and the resume. “It’s about vision, trust, and authenticity,” he said.
A Framework for Leadership That Lasts
To help boards and future leaders identify those elusive X-factor qualities of a great CEO, Carey outlined a simple framework focusing on personal traits that outlast market cycles and business trends. Among the traits he spotlighted:
Listening: “You never learn while you’re talking,” Carey said.
Delegation: Leaders need to trust and empower others.
Empathy: This trait is especially vital during crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authenticity: “You can’t fake it for long,” Carey said.
Engagement: Get out of the corner office and walk the floor.
Humor, Honesty, Humility: A triple-H approach to earning respect.
These traits aren’t just nice to have, Carey said. They’re increasingly nonnegotiable in a world that demands agility, vision, and human-centric leadership.
Focus on the Talent-Strategy-Risk Equation
Traditionally, the acronym TSR in business stands for “total shareholder return.” But Carey suggested that boards should focus on a new human-centered definition of TSR: talent, strategy, risk. The reason is that decisions around these factors, more than any others, determine whether a company will create long-term value. Carey, who co-authored a book on this subject, cited these key factors of company value:
Talent: board composition, succession planning, and culture fit.
Strategy: competitive intelligence and bold direction-setting.
Risk: not just mitigation, but opportunity — particularly through mergers and acquisitions.
Carey recalled Warren Buffett’s unique approach to risk, in which board members were divided into “for” and “against” camps before any major acquisition. This courtroom-like exercise often led to saying “no” to potential deals. But when the company did move forward, it knew exactly what it was taking on.
Preparing for What’s Next
Carey stressed that boards must take succession seriously, prepare for disruption, and refresh themselves regularly.
He also encouraged leaders to look beyond quarterly performance and take the long view. A good CEO, Carey said, doesn’t just manage — they transform. They elevate the enterprise. They leave a legacy.
Carey offered a final message to aspiring CEOs and board directors: Lead with clarity, listen with intent, and never underestimate the power of one leader to change the course of a company.
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