For decades, the conventional wisdom held that companies need a single, strong leader at the helm. But as executive responsibilities balloon, risks multiply and external expectations grow, the idea that one individual should carry the full weight of leadership is being questioned.
Amy Speake, CEO of Holmes Noble, a talent advisory firm, says her clients are beginning to ask whether the CEO role will exist in the future. “People are divided. Some argue a clear leader is essential for organisational visibility and managing the market; others see the role as potentially redundant one day.”
In part, the job is exponentially harder now, says Speake. While chief executives have been highly public figures for decades, today’s CEOs are expected to have an opinion on political, social and environmental matters. Operating a company is also far more complex. Businesses must contend with rapid technological changes, strident societal demands – from climate accountability to diversity, equity and inclusion – and constant scrutiny from consumers and shareholders.
At the same time, boards and shareholders are less tolerant of mismanagement, misconduct or lack of transparency than in the past. As of October, 25 CEOs had been forced out following an activist campaign, according to Barclays’ latest quarterly review of global shareholder activism. The record for CEO resignations in a year is 27 – set in 2024.
Is it time to rethink the long-held assumption that a single visionary should lead an entire enterprise? And if so, what alternatives exist?
Sharing the load: the case for distributed leadership
Chief executives are stretched thin. They are expected to mobilise large workforces, think strategically amid constant uncertainty and possess deep functional knowledge. The intensity of the job appears to be taking a toll. In 2024, 16 FTSE 100 bosses were in the role for less than a year.
In response, some companies are experimenting with co-leadership models and distributed governance structures, where responsibilities are shared across multiple executives or autonomous teams. The co-CEO model is being adopted by several prominent firms, including Netflix, Oracle and soon Spotify.
As organisations attempt to keep pace with developments in emerging tech, geopolitical upheaval, digital transformation and increasingly exacting regulation, traditional hierarchies are starting to feel outdated, argues Sara Daw, CEO of Libertis Group, an executive-recruitment firm. “The modern C-suite has barely evolved since the 1980s. It’s time to reconsider how leadership is structured,” she says. “Expecting one person to carry the full weight is unrealistic and risky.”
CEOs are needed now more than at any other time in business
Daw says a co-CEO approach can help companies stay agile in volatile markets and during periods of economic uncertainty. But success depends on clearly defined roles, shared accountability, complementary skills and aligned values. Without these foundations, Daw warns, co-leadership can quickly unravel.
The shift is also being driven by changing attitudes towards leadership itself. Speake argues that organisations are moving away from rigid titles, favouring capability-driven models that emphasise collaboration and functional expertise instead. This reduces the dependence on any single individual, strengthens succession planning and produces leadership that is both more resilient and diverse.
“The idea of the CEO as a dominant, ego-driven figure from 20 years ago has clearly evolved,” Speake says. “People coming through the leadership pipeline may no longer see the same appeal or purpose in the role as it has traditionally been defined.”
That sentiment is reflected in survey data. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, just 6% of gen-Z workers say their primary career goal is to reach a leadership position. Rather than chasing titles, younger employees are prioritising skill development, personal growth and purpose. This generation is less motivated by corner offices and 80-hour weeks and more driven by work that aligns with their values and long-term growth, Speake explains.
Redefining the CEO role
But rather than remove the role, it might be more useful to rethink what the CEO is meant to do. Many still see the CEO as the ultimate decision-maker, but that traditional approach often creates bottlenecks and slows progress. Instead, boards should view the CEO as a coach or guide, says Mark Sherman, CEO at Praeva Partners, an executive search firm. “A great CEO creates value, but a poor one destroys it. All companies need strong direction from a skilled individual, but not all are fortunate enough to have the right person in place.”
It’s time to reconsider how leadership is structured,
The real issue is not whether companies need CEOs, Sherman argues, but whether they have the right CEO – one capable of enabling decentralised decision-making while still providing strategic coherence. “When that capability is present, the role is indispensable. When it’s absent, no amount of structural redesign will compensate,” he says. “Every year, there are two or three pivotal calls – on investment, people, markets or risk – which materially influence whether a company succeeds or fail. These decisions are difficult precisely because they require judgement across competing interests, incomplete information and long-term consequences. In a fully decentralised model, they become harder, slower and potentially even impossible.”
What, then, does it take to be a successful chief executive in 2026?
According to Sherman, good corporate leaders must master the tricky, creative and increasingly collaborative game of allocating intangible capital – data, talent and IP. The CEO’s job is to decide where these resources sit, how they’re shared and how they’re protected or exploited. “CEOs provide cohesion, the invisible connective tissue that aligns a business behind a shared purpose. They articulate where the organisation is going, why it matters and how success will be defined.”
CEOs in the era of AI
While some see the CEO role fragmenting, others argue its importance is greater than ever. In today’s AI-driven landscape, “CEOs are needed now more than at any other time in business,” says Steve Garnett, former chairman, EMEA at Salesforce. “The AI revolution represents both the greatest opportunity and the greatest threat most companies will face in a generation. In moments like this, you cannot lead from the sidelines. The CEO has to be out in front, setting direction and owning the trade-offs.”
AI is unlike other enterprise technologies in that, when fully utilised, it will sit at the heart of how companies sell, serve customers, price products, allocate talent and even decide which work humans do next. “AI touches strategy, culture, risk and brand simultaneously,” Garnett notes. “This cannot be managed purely by committee. Someone must decide. Which sacred processes are you willing to kill? How fast do you move? Where do you accept short-term disruption to avoid irrelevance?”
The CEO role today is less about oversight and more about courageous leadership, strategic judgment and organisational stewardship amid unprecedented complexity. The paradigm of the singular, visionary CEO is evolving, but it is far from over.
For decades, the conventional wisdom held that companies need a single, strong leader at the helm. But as executive responsibilities balloon, risks multiply and external expectations grow, the idea that one individual should carry the full weight of leadership is being questioned.
Amy Speake, CEO of Holmes Noble, a talent advisory firm, says her clients are beginning to ask whether the CEO role will exist in the future. “People are divided. Some argue a clear leader is essential for organisational visibility and managing the market; others see the role as potentially redundant one day.”
In part, the job is exponentially harder now, says Speake. While chief executives have been highly public figures for decades, today's CEOs are expected to have an opinion on political, social and environmental matters. Operating a company is also far more complex. Businesses must contend with rapid technological changes, strident societal demands – from climate accountability to diversity, equity and inclusion – and constant scrutiny from consumers and shareholders.
