Beyond the Founding Team | A Leadership Playbook for Growth
Russell Reynolds Associates has researched 40 of the Americas and EMEA’s most successful, high-growth tech companies to understand the patterns of best-in-class executive leadership appointments over time.
RRA Growth tech embed
CFOs are typically the first executive hire, however most are replaced prior to IPO
Founding
Year 5
First CFO
1992
CFO at time of IPO
IPO
On the average, these companies place the first non-founder leaders...
Founding
Year 5
Major Funding Rounds
CFO
Typically the first placed executive but 60% are replaced by time of IPO