🔵 When a family business appoints an external CEO… without truly letting go

Le Figaro quietly reported it: Karim Khadr becomes CEO of Septodont, while Olivier Schiller – heir to the founding family – takes over as Chairman of the Board.

At first glance, it looks like a classic governance milestone: an international profile, a new leadership generation, a clear ambition to reach €1 billion in revenue by 2032.

But look deeper, and it’s something else entirely: a masterclass in invisible succession.

A carefully staged form of openness… without rupture.

Here’s what the HUMINT lens reveals beneath the surface:

This is not a transition. It’s a choreography of continuity.

Since 2021, Karim Khadr has been maturing within the inner circle. President of the Dental Division, ex-Johnson & Johnson, he ticks all the right boxes: healthcare, innovation, marketing, global growth.

But above all, he embodies a cultivated loyalty. A leader shaped to expand the model – without ever rewriting its DNA.

The storytelling, meticulously crafted by Olivier Schiller, mirrors two paths to legitimacy: his own, as a family heir who earned his stripes outside the walls; and Khadr’s, as a precisely selected outsider – the so-called “rare pearl” with the ideal fit.

It’s a tale of merit, yes. But also, a mechanism of preservation.

In truth, everything is already locked in: dual-headed governance, a strategic 2032 roadmap, cultural continuity embedded.

The goal isn’t disruption – it’s transmission with safeguards. Septodont didn’t choose a strategist to redraw the map, but a conductor to play the existing score… with finesse.

It’s the ultimate expression of transmission intelligence: open just enough, embody modernity without breaking the mold, and quietly hold the real levers of power.

A very French kind of succession.

An old-school pilotage in a world that glorifies change.

And yet… this may well be the truest form of resilience.

—

Understanding the invisible balances within your own leadership teams doesn’t show up in reports.

It shows up in behavior.

#HUMINT #Governance #Succession #StrategicLeadership #QuietPower #Transmission #Septodont #InvisibleTransitions