🔵 When CEOs Become Adjustment Variables – HUMINT Advisory – Behind the scene

In 2025, more than a dozen new CEOs have taken the helm of CAC 40 and SBF 120 companies. Beyond the media noise, it is the invisible signals that matter: structural weaknesses and deep board-level arbitrations.

1. Renault: the interim that says it all.

The unexpected departure of Luca de Meo in June 2025, after five years at the helm, led to an interim appointment of CFO Duncan Minto. This reflects a heavy trend: nearly 50% of CEO successions in the SBF 120 are unplanned. These improvised transitions expose companies to shareholder value losses worth billions. Boards are reacting in crisis mode rather than anticipating.

2. Kering: governance as a weapon.

From September 2025, François-Henri Pinault remains chairman while Luca de Meo assumes the CEO role. This split of responsibilities—already adopted by over 65% of SBF 120 companies—illustrates how governance becomes a strategic lever: reassuring markets, strengthening oversight, and providing agility under shareholder pressure.

3. BIC: embracing internationalization.

The appointment of Rob Versloot, a Dutch national and former Hero Group executive, speaks volumes. Foreign CEOs now account for 22% of the SBF 120, up from just 7% in 2021. Boards are deliberately seeking outside perspectives to trigger ruptures, especially in mature sectors where cross-border innovation is critical.

4. Ipsos: the transformer profile.

Jean-Laurent Poitou, ex-Accenture, takes office in September 2025 to reposition the group in the face of the AI shock. A typical case where a disruptive profile is chosen over continuity. Today, 43% of recent SBF 120 CEO appointments come from outside, signaling a strong preference for technology-driven disruption skills.

5. The diversity paradox.

Executive committees are becoming more gender balanced (close to 30%, with 54% of companies meeting this threshold in 2024), but at the top the decline is clear: fewer than 10% of CAC 40 CEOs are women, with only four in position in 2025. Openness accelerates for foreign talent but remains blocked for female talent—an enduring glass ceiling despite regulation.

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The HUMINT Underside of the Cards:

These successions reveal:

boards vulnerable to unplanned departures, shareholder coalitions that arbitrate faster under pressure from global funds, governance increasingly used as a tactical instrument, and diversity that remains more symbolic than a true lever of power.

The real question is not “who’s in and who’s out?”

But rather: who orchestrates, in the shadows, the invisible rules of these successions—and how can they be turned into durable assets to anticipate future crises?

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