Owners' preferences for CEOs characteristics: did the world change after the global financial crisis?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study whether and how owners’ preferences for CEO characteristics changed due to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. The authors identify three fundamental success factors needed for companies to compete in the after-crisis environment, and the authors connect five CEO characteristics to such factors. Design/methodology/approach – The authors rely on a hand-collected database to build a panel data of European CEOs for the 2010-2012 period. Findings – The empirical results indicate that after 2009, CEOs of companies that were more severely hit by the crisis are significantly different compared to those of other companies. More specifically, they have a background in science or engineering; they have international experience; and they are remunerated to a higher extent through stock options. The results of this paper also indicate that only international experience had a positive and significant impact on financial performance. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the stream of literature on CEO characteristics and owners’ identity, tackling the research theme from a dynamic rather than from a static perspective.