When Antoine Frérot stepped down as CEO of Veolia in July 2022, he was 64 years old, thirteen of which he spent at the helm of the water and waste giant. Crowned by the recent success of the close-fought takeover bid for Suez, he could have stayed a few more years. But he preferred to entrust control to his right-hand woman, Estelle Brachlianoff, while retaining the presidency.
“It was the right time. Estelle was ready, she was 50 years old, the right age to start general management and long-term planning.explains. With the purchase of Suez, Veolia has entered a new era and it was important to start it with a leader who could serve several terms. To run a business, you need to have free time. » But not too much either. “After a long period, we are less innovative in the ideas to implement and this can weigh on the company if we do not bring in new blood”recognizes.
Between a wise old man or a young wolf, who is ultimately the better boss? Academic research has investigated this question of the age of the captain without really finding a definitive answer. If researchers show that the appetite for risk decreases as the CEO ages, this has advantages and disadvantages: young people will tend to invest more, to be more innovative, to lead acquisitions, which allows them to generally show better financial performance than their elders, but, on the contrary, the probability of them “collapsing” the company is greater…
“The experience bonus comes into play”
This arbitration between performance and security is the responsibility of the board of directors, whose main mission is to choose the best manager for a company. And, depending on the period, the pendulum swings in one direction or another. “Since Covid, the experience bonus has come into full play.analyses Hervé Borensztejn, partner at the headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles. The average age of executives in large French companies, which had been falling periodically, has risen again. It has risen from 55 two years ago to 57. »
“This may seem surprising, at a time when the arrival of artificial intelligence or consideration of global warming could favour the coming to power of a new generation of bosses, but the environment is so complex, at a geopolitical, social or economic level, that boards of directors arbitrate in favour of experience and incumbent managers remain longer.”continues Sylvain Dhenin, partner of the company.
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