India Inc senior keen to book C-Suite for pros under 50

MUMBAI: In a recent CXO mandate given to a leadership search firm, a traditional manufacturing group capped the candidate age at 50 years as the company wanted someone who had at least 10 years remaining in the career.

In another C-suite search for a large consumer company, a candidate aged in the mid-fifties was eliminated from the list as his age was outside the “sweet spot”, though he otherwise was found to be the most suited for the job.

Top company executives, board members from large Indian conglomerates and executive search experts said post-pandemic, there is an increasing emphasis by old economy companies to hire younger CEOs/CXOs, a preference earlier seen mostly at startups and new age tech companies. They want people who can put in more years in the role, have greater adaptability, are tech savvy with skills in niche domains and more empathetic than hard taskmasters to negotiate through rapidly changing economic and business dynamics. Those aged above the “sweet spot” may not tick all these boxes.


“There is a strong demand for younger CXOs and contemporary leadership skills,” said Jyoti Bowen Nath, managing partner at search firm Claricent Partners.The trend reflects the changing dynamics of managing in a complex economic landscape where technology, geopolitics, people, brand and innovation have become the main levers, RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka said. "Adapting to change comes naturally in the younger age group where established biases may be less pronounced."

Trend in Outside Hiring
“While startups have some of the youngest CXOs, even mature businesses like manufacturing have shifted from skills such as labour management and cost control to innovation, technology, AI and customer centricity, Goenka said. “New ways of dealing with these have emerged in the last decade. Therefore, it is following a natural trajectory of matching the demands of the modern-day CEO with key management levers.”

"Due to the higher focus on runway for leaders, the sweet spot for the CXO age bracket is 45-50 years and for CEOs 48-54 years is acceptable, with a preference for leaders under 50," said Puneet Pratap Singh, country head at global leadership advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles. There is also a slow and gradual increasing pool of leaders in the 40-45 age bracket, he added.

Pawan Goenka, an independent director at several large companies, said this trend is seen more when companies hire from outside. "I do not see any age barrier when grooming internal talent," he said. “A CEO is normally appointed for five years. Performance notwithstanding, companies prefer at least two terms for a CEO so that they can steer the company and make a difference. Ideally in such cases younger talent is preferred,” said Rajiv Dube, an independent director at several leading companies.

Arun Nanda, a former director at the Mahindra group, said the younger CEOs don't come with baggage. “It’s also a matter of ambition and desire exhibited by managers of today to be bolder and aim higher, early on in their careers.” “Younger C-suite leaders are perceived to lead with empathy rather than cracking the whip like the old economy leaders, demonstrating more agility and adaptability,” said Nath of Claricent.

Many of these roles are a part of succession planning and there is time that is given to the leaders after they are hired to move to the top job.“For that there is a lot of learning on the job that needs to happen and hence companies look for younger candidates who are perceived to be more agile and willing to learn,” said Nath.