By a mere gleaning of only a few pages from the annals of human history, it can be established and recognised that succession to any position of authority has always been murkier and mostly bloodied. Instead of scanning the blood splattered chronicles of world history, I would zero in on the history of the subcontinent, where each ruler lived a life of perennial fear and suspicion, not due to the ready presence of enemies, but more so because of the ever ambitious, offspring or siblings, who invariably were persistently and impatiently, waiting in the wings to do a coup d’etat.
By a mere gleaning of only a few pages from the annals of human history, it can be established and recognised that succession to any position of authority has always been murkier and mostly bloodied. Instead of scanning the blood splattered chronicles of world history, I would zero in on the history of the subcontinent, where each ruler lived a life of perennial fear and suspicion, not due to the ready presence of enemies, but more so because of the ever ambitious, offspring or siblings, who invariably were persistently and impatiently, waiting in the wings to do a coup d’etat.
Zaheeruddin Babar alone out of love or under the influence of heavy consumption of various types of intoxicants, voluntarily circumambulated around the “almost” dead son, Nasiruddin Humayun’s bed and prayed to be taken, instead, by the Angel of death. Humayun survived. That’s a tale told; true or untrue, remains a mystery. Babar, the Mughal emperor’s behaviour stands in sharp and absolute contrast to the generation that followed him ... And the last powerful Mughal whose dominion spread across Hindustan, Alamgir Aurangzeb is humorously reported in history that he never left (spared) two things, his Salat and his brothers. (The punch of this remark is greater when rendered in Urdu). He killed all his male siblings enroute to Delhi, where he successfully deposed his ageing Father, Shahjehan. Succession and transitions due to certain innate human conditioning have never been smooth and easy.
In our own political history, which by definition is still young at 76 years, the pattern of succession has been more chequered than several countries in the neighbourhood. The only exception to historical trends is that our successions have never been bloody. They were smooth, with no resistance. Most were outside the legal ambit, they were bloodless because succession arose through palace intrigues, buy-outs and promised rewards for doing the unacceptable. The nation has survived such traumatic successions and transitions.
Succession and transitions in the corporate sector is not very different from the insidious political arena, and thankfully, the similar exception is upheld, that they are never bloody. The desire for it to be so, may exist, but the likelihood of its success is just not there; hence it is peaceful, albeit very filthy and dirty, mostly.
In family owned businesses/groups the battle for succession is carried out with the same Mughal recipe of intrigue, backbiting and backstabbing. Many business families, when it comes to succession, have in themselves all the dramatic elements of a soap opera like Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Dallas, Monarch, etc, all rolled into one unique system of manipulation and machination, against each other. The traditional and earlier established principles, which were based on the values of traits like honour and respect, allowed for the ‘Grand Old Man’ (usually the initiator of the business empire) to nominate a successor, from either his siblings or offsprings. Such selection was mostly acceptable to all, because of culture and values.
However during the period of the last three decades, ‘values’ have taken a flight out to exacerbate the decline, and what instead has come as a replacement, is to fight, assert and dominate for nomination and subsequent acceptance. The family bully usually succeeds, in most cases; or else the fight for succession, leads to disintegration of business ... which ultimately is then split up into independent units. It is a matter of reality that such splintered family businesses by the second generation, splits further. The aspect to note is that succession is driven by division.
Succession at the corporate platform is however more decently handled. Barring the numero uno position, all entities have a well laid down succession policy for each position/function. To foster healthy competition, for each critical position on the hierarchy, at least two to three persons are identified and are officially designated as “bench successors”; whenever a vacancy is created, one of them is picked, based on skills, abilities and talents. Like in the armed forces, from amongst the first tier successors, one is chosen, based on merit. The element of seniority is dispensed, however this principle is retained in the judiciary. Succession should be free of nepotism and favouritism.
The transition and succession to the CEO position is the trickiest. Most CEO’s are selected and appointed by the Board of Directors for a contractual period of usually three years, renewable, upon mutual consent and understanding. Each organisation’s Board has different and distinct methodologies for interviewing and selecting a CEO. The chairman, alongside the serving CEO and the Board members of the Human Resources Committee can conduct an interview and place the candidate for full Board’s approval or as it happens in practice, in most cases, the chairman and the Board HR committee is empowered by resolution to undertake the task. In some cases, the selected CEO is presented before the full Board for approval or post selection the appointment is confirmed through a circular resolution. This methodology is fine, transparent and workable, when the chairman takes the serving CEO into confidence that he/she is going to be replaced. (used a passive word, instead of what is best expressed by the word, “fired”). It is not so smooth when the chairperson and the Board connive to do so surreptitiously.
Human nature is mostly in suspicious disquieting of other humans; hence, the CEO’s aren’t taken on board out of fear, that business might get impaired or the reputation of the organisation may get severely dented, deliberately, intentionally or due to retaliatory action by the serving CEO.
The corporate conspiracy that is pursued in connivance with the Board, by the chairman, is to find the replacement; once there is success in finding one, then the serving CEO is informed, nay, surprised. This behaviour is common, across cultures and geographies, but more so in the local environment, and hence most CEO’s are ready for such actions and surprises. However, what the chairman/Board tend to overlook is that the impact of such change, which is undertaken for no glaringly obvious negative reasons, on the ethos and culture of the institution, is significant. The consequences are no different when the CEO springs a surprise on the Board by submitting the resignation without prior discussion.
In many cases , the senior management starts to look for alternatives in the market. This is triggered when the newly joined CEO indulges in wholesale inquisition and witch hunt of those, that are identified as “blue-eyed’s” of the outgoing CEO. The transition in such cases is rocky, ruinous and unstable. The damaging effects get to be seen in the long run only.
A CEO of a national institution confessed that whilst his contract was being renewed, obviously in his absence, a Board member remarked, “have we hired him for life?” Coincidentally this board member, because of his uncontrollable habit of having his foot in the mouth, was targeted by the chairman for dismissal; but he (the CEO) intervened and prevailed upon the chairman not to resort to such drastic action. His, the irritant, membership on the Board, was saved. Hearing this tale, I merely used the ever handy bard, William Shakespeare’s words, “Et tu Brutus “!
Recently, however, the concept of succession and transition was given a new meaning and practical dimension at the largest Islamic Financial Institution of the country. It is a classic case of graceful handling of succession. This was achieved largely because the entity has an enlightened Board, a CEO and a management, coupled with the army of staff, who reside on the “same” formidable plank of unimpeachable modesty, humility and piety. The current CEO having led the institution for almost two decades, realised and told the chairman, that despite the best results that continues, it is time for thinking, to hang boots and induct a replacement. The chairman agreed. The condition was to have a well defined timeline for nomination of a successor and the transition that would follow. The chairman asked it to be seamless and with no upheavals in business or unrest in management and staff. A fair call he made upon an equally enlightened CEO.
Doing, maintaining and undertaking such a sensitive task, obviously wasn’t easy, as explained to this scribe. In conversation, the president & CEO of the institution, said that he did so, with the active collaboration of the chairman and two other senior board members; the institution has a large Board. The interviews were done in confidence. Ultimately the person nominated was their own product, who had earlier moved to another financial institution, as the CEO. The decision to select wasn’t difficult, as mentioned by the president, but what was most difficult was on how to manage the existing hierarchy, especially the heir apparent, who had been patiently waiting in the wings for over a decade, but who now unfortunately found himself in the cold, due to changed regulatory requirement of meeting the maximum permissible age limit. Kudos must go to Irfan Siddiqui, the chairman, the Board and more to the heir apparent for instituting the most sound, honest and able succession and transition plan in place.
All relevant issues were gracefully handled. The deputy CEO (heir- apparent) contract was renewed till April,2024; the CEO designate joins and would remain an understudy to the Dy.CEO, and in April upon completion of contract of the current one, will assume the Dy.CEO position; the existing CEO will handover the reins to the Deputy CEO in December, 2025. Possibly the best succession and transition plan ever executed in Pakistan’s corporate history. No surprises, no surreptitious activity, no backlash and no reprisals. No witch hunting; no inquisitions and no blame game -- all out to eternal rest, by a “clean and sincere” move of succession and transition. The dictionary meaning of succession is, ‘the art of putting things in a sequential assignment’ and transition is defined as, ‘peaceful/orderly transition of power’; the demands of both these definitions are adequately met in this cited case.
A smooth succession/transition emboldens the faith in the institution, by all stakeholders, ranging from staff, clients to regulators. An example to emulate by all corporates. “A permanent state of transition is man’s most noblest condition” ( Juan Ranon Jimenez, the famous Spanish poet and Nobel laureate).
The writer is a freelance contributor
