The president & CEO of one of the largest water utilities in the U.S. reached out to Point NorthEast's™ senior advisor to assist in succession planning in advance of his pending retirement. The scope of the engagement was to conduct an in-depth assessment of several senior level executives to determine if one or more might be ready and capable of assuming his role. His intent was to provide his recommendations to the board of directors.

The results of the initial assignment identified the existing chief operations officer as a possible candidate. While the COO was capable in many of the required qualifications, there were some critical interpersonal skills dimensions that were lacking. A second phase of the engagement was to coach and mentor the internal candidate over a six-month period to strengthen his skills and prospects of becoming a viable candidate.

After the board conducted an independent nationwide search of potential candidates outside the organization, they ultimately selected the internal candidate to assume the role of president & CEO. The newly selected president & CEO continued to engage our senior advisor for the following eight years to receive advice and consultation on a range of operational and strategic issues. During that span of time, our senior advisor assisted in revamping the organizational structure of the company, was directly involved in the recruitment and selection of the entire executive leadership team and participated in a range of other strategic initiatives.

The president & CEO has since been recognized by its board of directors and national associations as an incredibly accomplished leader who has led the organization into being one of the best water utilities in the country. The organization is consistently recognized as one of the most creative, innovative and leading water utilities worldwide.