Industry: Retail Grocery 

Company Size: 120,000+ employees

Engagement Length: 9 months

Focus Area: Executive Succession Planning & Leadership Pipeline Development

Background:

As part of a three-year strategy focused on core business growth and e-commerce acceleration, the company identified a critical gap: the absence of a structured executive succession planning process. This posed a significant risk to operational stability and investor confidence, especially in the context of COVID-19 disruptions. As a publicly traded company, leadership continuity was vital—not only to sustain performance, but also to meet regulatory expectations and reassure the market.

Goals:

• Ensure operational continuity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

• Prepare for seamless transitions across C-suite roles and one level below

• Promote internal talent with future-ready leadership capabilities

• Strengthen diversity and inclusion within the executive pipeline

• Establish a transparent, disciplined process to build shareholder trust

Approach:

We partnered with the executive team and HR leaders to develop a comprehensive, future-focused succession planning strategy. Our work included:

• Executive Alignment to define succession priorities and risk areas

• Success Profiles for all C-suite and high-priority next-in-line leaders

• Pipeline Mapping using a 9-box performance/potential matrix and diversity metrics

• Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for high-potential leaders

• Board and Investor Communication Framework to support transparency and confidence

Results:

• Identified and developed internal successors for key C-suite roles

• Increased representation of underrepresented groups in the leadership pipeline 

• Reduced transition risk in critical roles through structured development plans

• Enhanced board and shareholder confidence through clear, consistent updates

• Embedded a repeatable, scalable succession model for annual planning cycles