Egon Zehnder

Until recently, most of the conversation about AI in legal departments has been about productivity. Faster research. Faster drafting. Faster contract reviews. But efficiency is only the first chapter in the much longer AI novel.   As AI becomes further embedded in legal workflows, leading in-house teams are using this opportunity to redesign how legal work gets done, including bringing more work in-house, rescoping talent needs, and elevating the strategic capabilities of legal operations.  For General Counsel, the work ahead is in aligning talent, technology, and operating model that strengthens both performance and trust. In our latest article, Richard Warren and Jacquelyn Herder explore this new chapter of legal leadership and why talent, not technology alone, will be the ultimate differentiator.  Read more: https://ego.nz/4pIqW7N

Many boards bring more rigor to financial oversight than they do to leadership and succession. In a new Harvard Business Review article, Egon Zehnder's Luis Giolo explores why people governance often receives less structure and discipline than other board responsibilities, and what boards can do to change that. Learn more: https://ego.nz/4wj9uti

The debate around AI has focused heavily on the jobs it may eliminate. A different question is receiving far less attention: What happens when the work that once taught people how to think, judge, and lead disappears? For decades, entry-level roles helped employees build business acumen, relationships, and the judgment that organizations depend on. As AI automates parts of that work, companies face a new challenge: how to preserve talent development while reinventing the workforce. That tension surfaced repeatedly in our conversations with HR leaders across industries. Read more in our latest article: https://ego.nz/3TkGFhm

In times of constant change, learning remains one of a leader’s most powerful tools. The CEO Insights annual reading list brings together books that challenge assumptions, expand perspectives, and explore what it takes to lead through the massive complexity of the present. From human-centered leadership to uncovering new pathways for leading in constant uncertainty and the unfolding world of AI, these selections offer valuable insights for the road ahead. Check our reading list here: https://ego.nz/3T796PN

Mark Krymalowski has spent years playing the saxophone.   Long enough to know that great jazz depends on musicians who know their own voice, who can listen exquisitely to everyone else’s, and who can meet the moment together. Leadership, like jazz, is the art of mastery in motion: being fully present, embodied in the here and now, able to sense the room, feel the energy of the ensemble, and respond with precision, grace, and surprise. It is also about knowing when to follow the score and when to improvise.   Last week's Montreux Jazz Festival added a few new notes to a conversation he and Alexander Hiller have been having about AI which makes the above-described human capabilities more valuable, not less.    See where those ideas lead: https://ego.nz/4wmGYHc

Last week, the first edition of Leadership Dojo took place in Munich, an intimate gathering of executives from Japanese companies across Germany and Europe.   What started as an idea over coffee more than two years ago between Yoshiko Ogawa and Bjoern Eichstaedt has finally become a reality. We had often observed that many leaders operating between Germany and Japan are facing remarkably similar challenges, yet rarely have an opportunity to discuss them openly with peers outside their own organizations. That sparked the idea for Leadership Dojo: a trusted forum for honest conversations, shared experiences, and mutual learning for C-levels.   For our inaugural event, we explored the topic of corporate philosophy. We were honored to welcome Rafael Schroeer, Managing Director of KYOCERA Europe GmbH, who shared how the philosophy of Kyocera founder Kazuo Inamori, one of Japan's most admired entrepreneurs, continues to shape leadership and decision-making within the organization today.   The conversation that followed highlighted just how relevant these topics are for leaders operating across cultures and markets. Most importantly, the evening created a space for executives to engage in open, candid conversations and build new connections with peers facing similar challenges.   The enthusiasm and openness of the discussion confirmed the value of such a forum. We look forward to continuing the Leadership Dojo journey in early 2027.

Our people are the foundation of every insight we share, every relationship we build, and every leader we help discover and develop. That is why, in 2025, we continued to invest in learning, apprenticeship, well-being, and responsible AI adoption to help colleagues navigate a rapidly changing world of work. Across 71 offices and 37 countries, we focused on creating the conditions for people to grow, adapt, and build lasting careers. Our latest Impact Report shares how we are supporting our colleagues through change while staying true to the values that define our Firm. It also reflects the progress we have made across sustainability, governance, community impact, and our work with clients. Because leadership for a better world begins with investing in people. Read the full report: https://ego.nz/4wUyk2v

A more crowded cockpit requires a different kind of leadership.    Airline CEOs have always navigated complexity. What feels different today is the number of critical issues appearing on the same dashboard at the same time.    Fuel volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, supply constraints, AI transformation, and growth ambitions are all shaping strategic decisions across the industry.    Our recent CEO research found that 92% of leaders believe they need unprecedented levels of adaptability to navigate today's environment. Few industries illustrate that reality more clearly than aviation.    Drawing on conversations at this year's IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro, we explore how airline CEOs are responding by strengthening leadership capacity, elevating board dialogue, and taking a more deliberate approach to succession.    Read more: https://ego.nz/4vFe1Fi

How can boards help turn AI ambition into business impact? As AI reshapes strategy, products, talent, and risk, boards are being called to move faster, engage more deeply, and focus relentlessly on outcomes. At a recent Egon Zehnder and Boardwave gathering in Paris, software industry Chairs, CEOs, and non-executive directors debated how organizations can turn AI activity into impact, one of the defining governance questions of our time.  Read the full article: https://ego.nz/4ytqjTy

The World Cup rewards coaches who don't confuse control with performance.   Football commentators often say, "This is where the player needs to be creative."   By then, the coach has already done the work. The decisive moments happen on the pitch, when a player sees something nobody else does and acts on it. No tactic board can predict it. No instruction can manufacture it.   What separates the coaches who create those moments from the ones who never see them arrive? Our latest article explores the answer: https://ego.nz/4aUN1tR