Egon Zehnder Names Co-Leader of U.S. CEO and Board Practice
May 2, 2023 – Leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder has appointed Charles Gray as co-leader of its U.S. CEO and board practice. He joins Lisa Blais in co-leading the newly combined practice, effective immediately. Last year, Egon Zehnder combined its CEO and board practices globally under the leadership of Ashley Summerfield to coordinate efforts in building and deepening relationships with senior leadership. Ms. Blais and Mr. Gray will work closely with Ms. Summerfield to leverage global best practices, perspectives, and tools. “I am thrilled to bring the U.S. CEO and board practice into a new era alongside Chuck,” said Ms. Blais. “His bold, action-oriented leadership style and his ability to understand the needs of our clients will be key as we advise boards and CEOs on the increasingly challenging issues they face.”
Ms. Blais serves on the firm’s global board of directors and chairs the finance and risk committees and has also worked with boards and CEOs across a range of leadership advisory, board advisory, and search services. Her experience in CEO succession and search work has been in the industrial sector, and her board work cuts across industries including healthcare, financial services, technology, and consumer. Ms. Blais previously led the firm’s Boston office and the industrial practice in North America.
Over the last several years, Mr. Gray has had an impact both inside and outside the firm as an advisor to boards, leading key client relationships with members of the Fortune 100. Egon Zehnder says that becoming co-leader of the CEO and board practice is a natural extension of the work he has been doing.
“I’m honored to join Lisa in providing a holistic advisory experience to CEOs and boards,” said Mr. Gray. “Combining these practices and joining our experience will elevate our capabilities and help clients address the new and evolving complexities they face within and outside their organizations, driving actionable, meaningful impact.”
Mr. Gray will be transitioning out of his role leading the North America technology officers practice where he brings expertise in technology and has placed many top CIOs and CTOs into executive roles and onto boards. Under his leadership, the technology officers practice has grown significantly and expanded its capabilities into segments such as data and analytics, CTO/engineering, and product. With Mr. Gray transitioning into this new role, the North America technology officers practice will now be co-led by Karena Man and Joon Yoon.
Related: Egon Zehnder Names U.S. Leader
Egon Zehnder currently ranks as a Top 5 global executive search firm, according to Hunt Scanlon Media. With more than 500 consultants in 68 offices and 40 countries around the globe, Egon Zehnder works with public and private corporations, family-owned enterprises, and non-profit and government agencies to provide board advisory services, CEO and leadership succession planning, executive search and assessment, and leadership development solutions. Since 1964, the firm has been at the forefront of defining top leadership in the face of changing economic conditions as well as major transitions in the executive search field.
New Office
Egon Zehnder recently opened a new office in Dublin, Ireland. The Dublin location marks Egon Zehnder’s 63rd global office, now across 36 countries. The office is led by Andrew Roscoe and senior advisor Karl Croke. “While we’ve served clients in Ireland for more than 20 years, this deepening of our commitment strengthens our presence in Ireland, so we can advise more organizations through their executive search and leadership advisory needs,” said Ed Camara, CEO of Egon Zehnder. “The business community in Dublin is energetic and innovative—a perfect fit for our culture and offerings.”
Mr. Roscoe is a partner and board member at Egon Zehnder. He previously led Egon Zehnder’s global executive assessment and development practice and is an active member of the firm’s board consulting and CEO practices. After specializing for many years in the energy and industrial sectors, Mr. Roscoe now concentrates on CEO and CFO succession and private-equity portfolio leadership. He is devoted to improving team performance and organizational effectiveness.
For more than 30 years, Mr. Croke has been identifying and developing leaders and leadership teams, providing services to publicly listed, multinational, large private, and state organizations. He has worked extensively with board chairs and chief executives across a range of complex organizations.
Related: Egon Zehnder Names Co-Leader of Global Consumer Practice
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
