The rise of co-CEOs: sharing the top job to balance growth and life
More companies are appointing co-CEOs to share decision-making, reduce hubris, and enable leaders to balance work with family. The share of co-CEO roles among Russell 3000 firms grew from 11 in 2015 to 24 in 2024, with examples including Oracle, Comcast, Spotify and Netflix. While the model can harness complementary strengths and aid succession planning, it can also invite power struggles and misalignment, so it tends to work best for independent units or established partnerships. Cases such as Board Intelligence and Enfuce illustrate how co-CEO arrangements can support time off and family commitments, but the model is not yet mainstream as a long-term solution; many co-CEO pairs eventually split or transition to sole leadership. Burnout remains a concern for top executives, and governance considerations surrounding two leaders continue to be debated.
