Becker's Hospital Review

24 POPULATION HEALTH 24 CEO / STRATEGY When is the right time for a CEO to step down? By Georgina Gonzalez R esearchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill attempt- ed to quantify when might be the right time for a company founder to step down as CEO, e Harvard Business Review reported Dec. 17, 2021. Although the answer varies by company, the researchers offered suggestions on how to smooth the transition. Some CEOs are publicly ousted aer mis- haps, raising questions about whether they should have stepped down sooner instead of overstaying their welcome. New research reveals when the time is right for founder-CEOs to move on. e research- ers from UNC Chapel Hill collected data from almost 2,000 public companies and ana- lyzed the relationship between founder-CEO leadership and financial performance. ey found that founder-CEO leadership is associated with a 10 percent increase in val- uation at initial public offering but then dete- riorates. Around three years aer a company goes public, the value added by the found- er-CEO dwindles to zero. However, there are notable outliers in Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Len Schleifer of Re- generon Pharmaceuticals. Both remained in the CEO position more than 20 years aer their companies' respective IPOs, and both firms' valuations exceeded $50 billion under their leadership. Mr. Bezos stepped down as Amazon's CEO in July. The researchers suggested that founders should consider taking non-CEO positions at their companies and lead succession planning discussions. n Could a 10-year war for talent be looming? By Georgina Gonzalez B oard directors and executives ex- pect to continue having issues re- cruiting and retaining talent until 2031, Fortune reported Dec. 13, 2021. A new report from Protiviti surveyed 1,453 C-level executives and board members about the top short-term and long-term risks from now until 2031. The top three risks for 2022 were stated as pandemic-related government poli- cies, succession challenges and market conditions. The top three risks for 2031 were cited as "upskilling" employees, succession planning and disruptive in- novation. Out of the top 2022 risks, sev- en had a people component, and six risks had a people component in 2031. "This increases the need for HR to have a strategic lens into the organization," said Fran Maxwell, global lead of work- force and organizational transformation at Protiviti. He also said that talent chal- lenges are "pervasive throughout all industries and organizations right now." Labor costs were also identified as a top risk for 2022. The worker's market is expected to drive up wages in the coming years as it helps the economy recover. This could indicate a continual drive for talent. n Massachusetts hospitals urged to boost board diversity By Kelly Gooch T he Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association is calling on healthcare organizations in the state, including hospitals, to improve the diversity of their governing boards. The call to action — part of the associ- ation's overall diversity, health equity and inclusion strategy — was sent to healthcare organizations and other sectors in the state Dec. 15, 2021, according to a news release. It specif- ically urges organizations to ensure their boards of directors and trustees reflect the diverse backgrounds of patients and communities they serve. "The pandemic has cast a new light on our widespread societal failure to address systemic inequalities in our healthcare delivery system," Kevin Churchwell, MD, president and CEO of Boston Children's Hospital, incom- ing chair of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association's board, and co-chair of the association's Stand- ing Committee on Diversity, Health Equity and Inclusion, said in a press release. "There is no better time than now to unite and commit to eliminat- ing these inequities, especially those affecting our most underserved and vulnerable populations." Earlier in 2021, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association sur- veyed board demographics among hospitals in the state, representing a 98 percent response rate among its member acute care hospitals. Al- though numbers vary at individual facilities, the survey found hospital boards of trustees are, as a whole, nearly 20 percent racially/ethnically diverse and 38 percent women. More specifically, the survey found that 81 percent of hospital board members are white, and 19 percent are people of color. While the findings reflect the work hospitals have done regarding board diversity, they also show more work is needed, according to the Massachu- setts Health & Hospital Association. Joseph Betancourt, MD, senior vice president of equity and community health at Boston-based Massachu- setts General Hospital, who co-chairs the association's diversity, health eq- uity and inclusion committee with Dr. Churchwell, cited collaboration as a key component in creating equity. Dr. Betancourt also told The Boston Globe that achieving board diver- sity is "about being intentional and deliberate about finding the best talent," and he advocated for better demographic data on hospital pa- tients to develop programs target- ing disparities. n

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