The appointment of a Chief Executive Officer is critical to the success of every organisation. The Chief Executive Officer leads and implements the vision across strategy, business and culture, and the influence of the role extends beyond the organisation to the wider society and economy it serves. Even when the Board or other decision makers have a strong internal candidate, an executive search allows them to benchmark that candidate against the market before a decision is made. That applies equally to a Managing Director appointment and to a Chief Executive succession.

Since 2002, Omera Partners has built its services around the full Chief Executive Officer journey: the initial briefing, robust executive search and appointment, onboarding, transitions, leadership guidance and ongoing development. Chief Executive Officer appointments and Chief Executive succession are treated as distinct areas of work, each with its own process.

Before any search begins, our Partners work closely with the Board or other decision makers to understand the organisation's strategy, vision, objectives, culture and requirements. They draw on experience in significant executive roles as well as specialised executive search. In Chief Executive succession, where the Board or other decision makers intend to appoint from within, internal candidates are tested rigorously against the external market before a recommendation is made.

Chief Executive Officer appointments are not always led by a Board. Omera Partners also advises smaller companies, industry associations and other organisations, where the decision may rest with a Founder, the Executive Committee or the Executive Leadership Team.

Every Partner at Omera Partners works with clients within their own industry on Chief Executive Officer appointments, across sectors including Financial Services; Energy, Oil and Gas; Mining and Mining Services; Health and Life Sciences; Retail and Consumer; Digital Infrastructure; Technology, Media and Telecommunications; and Infrastructure, Transportation and Water. Each search is led by a Partner with direct knowledge of that sector. Our Partners work from offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and a team of in house research specialists works alongside them. The search draws on an extensive network across blue chip companies, contemporary organisations, advisory entities and, where appropriate, the investment community, to identify diverse, exceptional candidates.

Market perspective

Company Director Magazine has reported on a BoardOutlook governance study of more than 1000 directors globally. It found that fewer than one in five Boards were confident in their organisation's internal Chief Executive Officer candidates, and that only 20% of directors saw Board oversight of succession planning as a strength.

Artificial intelligence is now part of the Chief Executive Officer's remit. A survey of Australian business leaders, published in January 2026, ranked AI related issues as their top concern for 2026 and for the next three to five years. A global survey of 1350 Chief Executives of companies with annual revenue above US$500 million, including Australian companies, published in October 2025, found that 71% rank artificial intelligence as a top investment priority for 2026 and that 70% are concerned about competition for AI talent.

Two questions therefore sit behind most Chief Executive Officer briefings: what the organisation needs from its next Chief Executive Officer, given its strategy, culture and objectives, and how any internal candidate compares with the external market.

Questions Boards and decision makers should ask before appointing a Chief Executive Officer

1.    Have the Board or other decision makers agreed what the next Chief Executive Officer must deliver across strategy, business and culture?

2.    Is this a Chief Executive Officer appointment or a Chief Executive succession, and have the internal candidates been benchmarked against the external market?

3.    Does the search reach beyond the usual names, including contemporary organisations, advisory entities and, where appropriate, the investment community?

4.    Can the candidate show how they have led the adoption of artificial intelligence and governed its risks?

5.    Have the Board or other decision makers planned for onboarding and the transition, not only the appointment itself?

6.    Will the shortlist be diverse as well as exceptional?

Working with Omera Partners

Omera Partners advises Boards, Chief Executives and other decision makers on Chief Executive Officer appointments and Chief Executive succession across Australia, from offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, including for smaller companies and industry associations. That is the standard Omera Partners brings to every Chief Executive Officer appointment.