A three‐stage life cycle for chief executives

Submits that, just as there is a product life cycle so too there is a life cycle for CEOs to pass through. Recounts that there is a three‐stage life cycle that CEOs go through: the period of entry; the period of consolidation; and the period of decline. States that chief executives are demonized on one hand but may be accorded ‘hero’ status on the other. Looks at the appointment of new CEOs and the possible effects this can have within companies — particularly if the choice is internal rather than external, which may give complications in a few different ways.