Boards stopped giving new CEOs time to find their footing

Boards are no longer granting new CEOs a "first 100 days" grace period to learn their roles, according to a 25-year veteran of executive placement in education and edtech. Instead, boards now expect new leaders to demonstrate judgment and understanding of the business from day one, with significantly reduced tolerance for ambiguity. This shift is particularly pronounced in the education technology (edtech) sector, where the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally altering strategy, governance, product development, and workforce planning. The author, who specializes in placing transformative leaders in edtech, notes that the "pre-work" required for new CEOs has intensified. This involves understanding not just the formal organizational structure and strategy, but also the actual company culture, informal power dynamics, and critical external relationships before the CEO's official start date. This enhanced preparation is crucial for enabling new leaders to quickly interpret signals and make precise decisions in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, especially as AI necessitates a deep understanding of its impact on educational institutions and their adoption of change.