CFO to CEO: Inspiration or Lunacy?

Abstract

Many more publications have addressed aspects of the chief executive officer (CEO) role than the chief financial officer (CFO) role. Little research has addressed their relative personality profiles or the purported suitability of CFOs for promotion to the post of CEO. The 16PF Fifth Edition Questionnaire profiles of 2 large CEO (N = 1,670) and CFO (N = 951) samples were compared with national norms and with each other. On average, both samples were more intellectually gifted and emotionally stable than the general population. Compared with CFOs, CEOs were more globally extraverted and independent as well as more abstract thinkers and exhibited greater openness to change. In contrast, the CFOs were more oriented to logic and rules in thinking and decision-making and less patient with others. Implications for CFO success as CEOs were explored as were possible developmental strategies that CEOs could use with the assistance of coaches and psychologist managers.