CEO Review:
Give Your Board a Clearer View of CEO Leadership and Impact

Most CEO Reviews are completed in four to five weeks. The process typically includes:

• discussion with the Compensation Committee (or similar board representatives) on goals for the review and potential tailoring of the review framework
• receipt of necessary data: participant lists (board, direct reports, CEO, occasionally other cohorts), CEO Goals for evaluation of progress, confirmation of question set
• collection of input from directors, the CEO, and selected direct reports (takes place digitally on Boardspan’s secure platform)
• synthesis of findings into a structured report (written by Boardspan consultants)
• discussion of findings and suggestions for delivering the review to the CEO, held with committee leadership and/or full committee, as desired.

Boardspan CEO Reviews evaluate performance across core leadership competencies and the CEO’s progress against agreed goals.

Typical topics include:

• strategy
• judgment & decision-making
• mission alignment and culture leadership
• talent development and team effectiveness
• communication
• external relationships
• performance against annual objectives

The framework can be tailored to reflect the organization’s priorities and the CEO’s specific goals for the review period.

Designated board liaison(s), typically the compensation committee chair and/or committee members, receive(s) a confidential report combining quantitative data, summarized commentary, and consultant observations.

The report typically highlights:

• principal observations, including key strengths and development areas
• perspectives from directors, direct reports, and the CEO
• relative alignment across participant groups
• progress against prior-year goals (when applicable)

Boardspan advisors review findings with committee leadership and support planning for sharing feedback with the CEO.

Boardspan’s governance experts synthesize feedback into clear strengths to be acknowledged, along with development areas to be addressed, and provide practical recommendations aligned with the board’s expectations for the CEO’s role.

Boards often use these insights to:

• clarify forward-year priorities
• provide context for compensation decisions
• strengthen alignment between the board and CEO
• support leadership development planning
• inform succession and talent discussions

This helps ensure the review supports both CEO growth and organizational performance over time.

A Boardspan CEO Review is designed specifically to meet the board’s governance responsibility to evaluate leadership, rather than as an internal HR evaluation process.

It differs from traditional executive 360 reviews by:

• incorporating board perspectives alongside management input
• aligning feedback with strategy and governance priorities
• evaluating performance against board-defined goals
• supporting compensation and succession discussions
• providing independent interpretation from governance advisors

The result is a structured process that helps boards ensure appropriate leadership and deliver candid, constructive feedback while strengthening alignment with their CEO.