Why More CEOs are Sharing the Top Job

For nearly sixteen years, Pippa Begg navigated the leadership of Board Intelligence as co-chief executive alongside Jennifer Sundberg. Together, they steered the company, a provider of analysis and services for corporate boards, to significant growth. Today, Board Intelligence boasts a workforce of 200 employees and serves prominent clients such as Nationwide, Rolls-Royce, and Reckitt. "We are quite different people – very much yin and yang – but I think decisions are better made with two brains rather than one as it stops hubris," remarks Begg, who is based in London. Begg and Sundberg represent a growing trend: companies are increasingly experimenting with the co-chief executive leadership structure.

The shift towards shared top leadership is quantifiable. In 2015, only 11 companies within the Russell 3000, a benchmark of the largest publicly traded companies in the US, operated with co-CEOs. By 2024, this number had more than doubled to 24, according to an analysis by MyLogIQ, a firm specializing in public company intelligence. Furthermore, 2024 saw a flurry of major corporations, including Oracle, Comcast, and Spotify, adopting the co-CEO model. Netflix, a prominent example, has maintained co-CEOs since 2020.

The allure of the CEO position is undeniable, with top corporate executives enjoying substantial compensation. A report from the previous year highlighted that chief executives at the UK’s largest firms earn, on average, a staggering 122 times the salary of the average full-time UK worker. However, the immense responsibility and demanding nature of the role come with significant drawbacks. A survey conducted by leadership advisory firm ICEO revealed that a substantial 56% of top executives reported feeling burnt out in 2024.

The co-CEO model offers a compelling solution by dividing responsibilities, accountability, and, crucially, the inherent burden of leadership between two individuals. Audrey Hametner, a leadership coach, has observed that co-CEOs often find it easier to take necessary time off, something sole CEOs might feel they cannot afford. She recounts a client who, as a sole CEO, had not taken a holiday in five years but was finally able to enjoy a family vacation after finding a co-CEO partner. Hametner further explains that this structure allows leaders to leverage their individual strengths more effectively. She cites a past client where one co-CEO focused on marketing and product development, while the other primarily engaged with finance, government regulatory bodies, and legal affairs. "You may have co-CEOs where one is an outgoing and high-level thinker, who may find it more challenging to focus on all the small tasks, and the other CEO is more detail-oriented and loves to speak to the data and the nuances," she explains.

The shared workload can also provide co-CEOs with more valuable time for their families, a crucial aspect often lacking in the demanding lives of top executives. A study by executive search firm Russell Reynolds indicated that 60% of CEOs report spending insufficient time with their families. Pippa Begg, for instance, took three maternity leaves, each lasting approximately six months, within a five-year period, returning to work each time on a four-day week basis. Similarly, Jennifer Sundberg took two maternity leaves during the same timeframe. Begg points out the unusual nature of a CEO taking such extended leave. The challenges for female leaders are particularly acute; some have publicly discussed taking minimal maternity leave, with data from "That Works For Me" suggesting that 71% of women in leadership positions take less than six months of leave due to fears of jeopardizing their careers. This same study also revealed a significant 32% drop in women at managerial levels after they have children. Begg attributes her ability to avoid becoming another statistic to her co-CEO partnership. "Without the co-CEO structure, the trade-off would have either been too great for the business, or too great for the way that we wanted to have our children and have maternity leave," she reflects. "If we hadn’t had the co-CEO model, we probably would have felt that we needed to find a new CEO, or even sell the business, which are things that happen to so many female-run businesses because they don’t see how it’s going to work. Our experience was that this can really work."

The benefits of the co-CEO model extend to newer ventures as well. Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe, the co-founders and co-CEOs of Anything, a startup focused on "vibe coding" that empowers individuals to create apps without coding knowledge, have found the arrangement invaluable. This structure enabled Amin to take two paternity leaves of three weeks each in 2024 and 2025. "Marcus has covered for me twice. We’ve both had times when we’re gunning hard for the company, and times we’re not. The structure gives us permission to be human without everything falling apart," says Amin, who is based in San Francisco.

In Finland, Denise Johansson experienced the support of a co-CEO during a personal tragedy. In 2024, when her father died suddenly, Johansson, who has been co-CEO and co-founder of the payment processing platform Enfuce with Monika Liikamaa since 2016, was able to take three weeks away from work. "It was not only a huge emotional shock, it also came with a lot of unexpected responsibility as I inherited another business at the same time," says Johansson, who is based in Mariehamn, in the Åland Islands. "Monika stepped in without hesitation, took on more of the day-to-day load, and created the space I needed to deal with both grief and practical issues." With a combined six children, Johansson and Liikamaa also prioritize family time, with one stepping in when the other needs to attend to their children. "If my kids need me, I will be off with them – no question. We coordinate so that key moments for our children are protected, while the company still has a steady hand on the wheel," states Johansson.

Despite these compelling advantages, the co-CEO model has not yet become a mainstream, long-term solution for all businesses. Several companies, including Salesforce, SAP, and Marks and Spencer, appointed co-CEOs in the early 2020s, but these arrangements typically lasted no more than two years. Tierney Remick, a vice chairman and co-leader of the global board and CEO practice at business consultancy Korn Ferry, observes that co-CEOs tend to be most effective in independent companies with straightforward structures and when the pair has a pre-existing working relationship. Without these conditions, potential issues such as power struggles, misalignment in vision, and confusion within the broader organization can arise. "Leaders trying to establish their partnership, as well as drive the business and evolve the strategy – and doing it in a way that doesn’t create confusion in the organisation – is usually very difficult if they don’t know each other," Remick notes.

Furthermore, co-CEO pairings can serve as a strategic succession planning tool, allowing boards to assess if one individual is better positioned to ultimately assume the sole CEO role. "There’s a tremendous amount of succession planning happening at the moment. And there is the reality that the pipeline of ‘ready-now’ CEOs has decreased over the last several years," she adds. "So we are seeing boards find different ways to expand the roles and responsibilities of high potential leaders, to see how they accelerate and grow in a market that is creating a lot of change and ambiguity every day."

For Pippa Begg, her tenure as co-CEO of Board Intelligence concluded in 2024 with the company’s acquisition by private equity backers, a natural juncture for Jennifer Sundberg to step down. Sundberg continues to contribute to the company as a member of its advisory board. Now the sole CEO, Begg acknowledges a reduction in her family time. To compensate, her husband left his job to assume a more central role in managing the household. Since their youngest child started school last September, he has established a consultancy, working during school hours. "He carries the load of home and family life. It still probably raises an eyebrow when he’s called into a meeting and he says it has to be between 10am and 3pm. They’ll be shocked that a man has said that," Begg shares, highlighting the lingering societal perceptions around gender roles in domestic responsibilities.