Assessing the evolving dynamics of Leadership Hiring: CXO Moves Annual Report
4 min read . Updated: 10 Aug 2021, 01:37 PM IST_1628512451066_1628512459337.jpg)
The purpose of this comprehensive study was to understand the CXO hiring across industries and to succinctly showcase the underlying trends, gain inferences, thereby enhancing the decision making process of CXO hiring.
India, 9th August 2021: Delivering the Welcome Address at the Smart & Sustainable Leadership Hiring Colloquium on the 6th of August, 2021 Mr. Ankit Bansal, Founder & CEO, Sapphire Human Solutions said “Over the years, the business ecology has become much more complex and uncertain than ever before. Considering every constant, every variable, coming to the right conclusion is critical to the success of any business. And hiring the right leadership talent probably sits right at the top of decision-you-cannot-go-wrong pyramid given the VUCA world we operate in. The CXO Moves Annual report is a ready reckoner that is designed to enhance the CXO hiring process. The purpose of this comprehensive study was to understand the CXO hiring across industries and to succinctly showcase the underlying trends, gain inferences, thereby enhancing the decision making process of CXO hiring. This report is the culmination of a year-long research jointly done by Sapphire Human Solutions and FICCI analysing more than 4000 CXO movements that took place and were reported in the year 2020 - 21."
The CXO Moves Annual Report – 2020-21, a joint report prepared by Sapphire Human Solutions, India’s most agile executive search firm and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the voice of India’s business and industry, was unveiled at the Smart & Sustainable Leadership Hiring Colloquium by key dignitaries including Mr. Dilip Chenoy, SG, FICC, Mr. Ranjan K. Mohapatra, Co-Chair, FICCI HR Committee & Director HR, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Mr. Sushant Dwivedy, Managing Director (India and Philippines), SHL, Mr. Manish Singhal, DSG, FICCI, Ms. Madhavi Lall, Head HR, Deutsche Bank and Mr. Ankit Bansal, Founder & CEO, Sapphire Human Solutions.
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Transforming every-day news reports into actionable insights and in turn enhancing the CXO hiring process is at the very core of the CXO Moves Annual report. Over time as business evolve and expand, their leadership requirements too evolve and become more complex, raising the challenges of finding the right leadership candidate with the right mix of skill, talent and experience who would also be a perfect cultural fit. CXO Moves Annual Report is designed to serve as a ready reference for corporate India in the CXO Hiring process. Some of the insights this report brings to light are –
- The number of CXO moves recorded every month, showcasing which months did the movement’s peak and which months were lean.
- Leadership hiring trends across sectors and the sectors that recorded the most movements.
- Exploring the preferred hiring mechanism, whether organisations relied more on internal promotions or on external hiring.
- Assessing where the movements were occurring the most, whether in Indian companies or MNCs.
- Assessing the hiring trends of women leaders across sectors
With many such insights, this report aims to equip organisations with relevant data points and analysis that would help them make informed decisions when hiring CXOs.
The Opening Remarks was presented by Mr. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary-General, FICCI. In his address, Mr. Chenoy highlighted the resilience demonstrated by the HR function and said “Most businesses have remained resilient led by people being resilient for which HR teams deserve kudos and appreciation. They have had to deal with multiple challenges resulting in decreased demand and disrupted supply chains."
Mr. Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra - Co-Chair, FICCI HR Committee & Director HR, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd while presenting the Special Address said, “Job expectations in the corporates have changed where companies have come to expect much more from their C level executives because you need different and new skills to deal with today’s business."
In his Keynote Address, Mr. Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, ICICI Securities & Member of Thought Leaders of India, stressed the need for the leadership to be able to think in a multi-modal way and said “Leadership today, need to think in a multi-modal way in terms of time frame. It’s not just about thinking short-term but long-term. The leadership needs to have the necessary skills to work in a multi-modal pattern".

Mr. Sushant Dwivedy, Managing Director – SHL (India & Philippines) & Member of Thought Leaders of India, while delivering the opening address at the event said, “Mobilizing leaders has always been challenging and more so post covid. The world is changing due to multiple factors like rapid adoption of smart technology, a growing gig economy, need for diversity and inclusion alongside an unending dynamic list of change; businesses and roles will need to rapidly adapt themselves. Organizations need to assess beyond competencies and add the Power of Context to their evaluation metrics for leadership roles to drive a 4X improvement in their performance. Having a right fit leader is critical for any business unit."
Speaking on how leadership priorities have evolved during the pandemic Mr. Anadi Sinha, Group President, UNO Minda Group said “During this pandemic, we have learnt to become more communicative, flexible, nimble, and agile. Our decision making have become very quick and immediate."
Emphasizing on the importance and the need for more women leaders in corporate India Mr. Ashish Pradhan, President Asia, Siegwerk & Member of Thought Leaders of India shared “In India, gender equality and diversity are gaining momentum yet then if we see from a global perspective, we still have a long way to go. The corporate world simply reflects on what is happening in our society."
With the successful launch of the CXO Moves Annual Report 2020-21 Sapphire Human Solutions and Federation of Indian Commerce of Chambers and Industry plan on establishing this as an annual feature, enhancing the CXO hiring process by providing actionable insights derived from everyday news reports.
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