70% of New CEOs Fail
Sources: Gartner · Heidrick & Struggles · Stanford Rock Centre · The Conference Board · Institute of Executive Development
I help you join the 30% who succeed
Working with new CEOs and Business Heads navigating the transition that derails most leaders - not through lack of capability, but through the shift in role, complexity and system-level leadership.
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MCC Master Certified Coach · BCC Board Certified Coach · 25,000+ Coaching Hours · Coaching Practice Est. 2001
Private Sector: SAP · Nokia · SimCorp · BNP Paribas · Société Generale · American Express · Maersk · Schneider Electric · Disney · Olam International · among others
Public Sector: EDB · Monetary Authority of Singapore · Prime Minister's Office · A*STAR · GovTech · SGInnovate · Design Singapore
Who this is for
If you are a newly appointed CEO or Business Head — or about to become one
You have just stepped into the biggest role of your career. The capability that got you here is not in question. What changes now is everything else — the scope, the complexity, the expectations, the pace.
And there is something nobody tells you before you get there. You can't show uncertainty to the people above you. You can't show it to the people beneath you. For the first time in your career, there is nobody to think things through with openly and honestly — without consequence.
Most leaders who struggle in the first two years do not fail because they lack talent. They fail because they are navigating the hardest transition of their career completely alone. That is where I come in.
When I get involved
People come to me at four different points in that journey.
Before you start. The promotion is confirmed. You have a few months before you step in. We use that window deliberately — so that when you walk in on day one, you are already thinking and operating like the leader this role needs, not the one you were in your last job.
On day one. You start the role and within days the scale of what you have taken on is clear. You want support from the beginning rather than waiting until the cracks appear.
In the first six months. You are in the role. Reality has set in. It is more complex, more demanding, and lonelier than you expected. You need help now — and you are right to ask for it.
Going into year three. The most common scenario. Year one: you took your time, looked around, decided what needed to change. Year two: you tried to implement it — and hit resistance. What you did not realise is that twelve months of careful observation taught everyone around you that nothing was actually going to change. Now you need year three to be different. This is where most people find me.
If you are the CHRO or HR Director
Your most senior appointments carry the most risk. A leadership transition that goes wrong is expensive, disruptive, and visible at board level. Tony works with a small number of organisations to provide executive coaching for their most critical senior appointments — newly appointed CEOs and Business Heads stepping into full P&L responsibility for the first time.
In either case — the next step is a conversation.
Arrange a conversationClient Case Studies
Global Software Company
European Headquarters, Germany
Candidate: Female · European
Transition: Regional COO to Regional President
Location: APAC & Europe
A global organisation run by Regional Presidents overseeing regional functional and country teams, with global oversight from European HQ. The candidate was moving up two levels in a lagging business — appointed by a European board with a reputation for swift action when results were not delivered. The brief was to help her step up and be successful. Success was defined as acceptance by subordinates, peers and board — and a demonstrable business turnaround.
Outcome: Business turnaround delivered. Candidate promoted to a global role at board level — the first woman appointed to the board. Tony subsequently coached her successor and his successor as each was promoted to the Regional President position.
Global Software Company
European Headquarters, Denmark
Candidate: Male · European
Transition: Regional CEO to Global CCO to Global CRO
Location: APAC & Europe
A three-phase engagement. The candidate was hired externally as Regional CEO of APAC with a stated intention to move to a global role within two years. Phase one: coached into their first CEO rolecovering APAC region. Phase two: coached the transformation of the leadership team — from a group of functional leaders into the team that runs the business — so that any successor could be a strategic leader rather than a detailed expert. Phase three: coached the transition from Regional CEO to global role.
Outcome: Business expansion on track. Leadership team operating autonomously with full day-to-day ownership. Candidate appointed Global CRO. Tony then coached him into that role and coached his successor on board as Regional CEO.
Global Manufacturing Company · British Plc
Headquarters UK
Candidate: Female · Singaporean Chinese
Transition: Regional CFO to Global CFO
Location: APAC & Europe
A British Plc with global operations and a track record of long-term planning for senior positions. The candidate was a regional finance director in Asia who had come up through the ranks. A two-stage succession brief: stage one — move to UK headquarters as number two to the Global CFO, with significant new responsibilities at shareholder and board level. Stage two — take over as Global CFO on the incumbent's retirement. The coaching covered developing her regional team for continuity, adjusting to operating at a higher level in a new country and culture, and preparing for board-level acceptance.
Outcome: Stage one transition highly successful. Stage two in progress.
Global Chemical Company
European Headquarters, Germany
Candidate: Female · Malaysian Chinese
Transition: New joiner to JV CEO
Location: APAC & Europe
The candidate was appointed CEO of a European joint venture with German JV partners — a proving ground role for a high potential leader identified for board-level progression. Success was defined as business continuity through a challenging period, solid relationship building with JV partner stakeholders, and demonstrating the maturity of approach and executive presence expected two levels above the current position.
Outcome: Business objectives achieved. Senior review confirmed performance and demonstrated potential to board level +2. The candidate has since been coached by Tony into a first regional CEO role in a different sector.
Global Logistics Company
Headquarters USA
Candidate: Male · Singaporean
Transition: Expansion of Regional Head role to global impact
Location: APAC
The brief was to elevate the candidate from regional operator to globally influential leader — developing the team beneath him to own the region fully while he built presence and credibility at global level.
Outcome: Regional team fully autonomous. Candidate operating with significant global influence beyond original role scope. Recipient of the Global President's Award for Innovation.
Portfolio Medical Technology Company
Headquarters USA
Candidate: Male · European
Transition: Head of Quality to Managing Director — Country Operation, Southeast Asia
Location: Malaysia
Transition from specialised technical-functional leader to first CEO role — full P&L responsibility and full functional leadership team in a significantly matrix-structured global organisation. Concurrent coaching of leadership team development.
Outcome: Full success in transition. Candidate now operating strategically, focused on growth and expansion. Leadership team fully autonomous, handling all day-to-day operations independently.
Ready to talk?
Every engagement starts the same way — with a straight conversation about where you are, what you are dealing with, and what success needs to look like.
From there, based on 25 years of working with leaders at this level, I will give you a direct view on what the work should involve and how we structure it together.
Arrange a conversation