(Picture: Co-CEO Andreas Freitag, Co-CEO Désirée Heutschi)
For over a year now, my colleague Andreas Freitag and I have been leading Procivis jointly in a co-leadership model. With our Board of Directors we decided for this approach after an extensive six-month search for a CEO who could drive our vision and strategy forward. Despite working with a professional headhunting firm, we couldn’t find a suitable candidate who combined the skills and experience we were looking for.
During this search period, I was asked to step in as CEO ad interim to start executing our strategy that we have developed, Andreas supporting me in this assignment on the technology side. Neither of us had planned to take on this role long-term— I loved my position at Orell Füssli, Procivis’ parent company and didn’t feel like taking on an operational role again, and Andreas had just started his own consultancy company and was not looking to move to Zurich.
Why Co-Leadership at Procivis?
Initially, our setup was meant to be temporary. However, after a few months, we realized that co-leadership was highly effective for us. We complement each other perfectly, bringing different skills and perspectives to the table. This balance allows us to handle complex situations more efficiently resulting in better outcomes. This is particularly important in a challenging environment where the market is only building up.
- Complementary Strengths – Our different backgrounds and skills help us address challenges from multiple angles.
- Challenging Each Other – By questioning and pushing one another, we foster more creative and strategic approaches leading to efficient problem-solving.
- Stronger Decision-Making – Our combined perspectives lead to more well-rounded and effective decisions
What Does Co-Leadership Mean?
There are plenty of insightful articles and research studies—published by Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and many others—suggesting that public companies led by co-CEOs often outperform their peers. Rather than focusing on these general studies, we can speak from direct experience why co-leadership has been the right choice for us:
- Split responsibilities with the same goals: A key element for success is to complement each other well. If you are building and scaling up a technology company, you need a combination of not only very strong business skills but also technical expertise to understand and adapt to market demands. Therefore, we have split the responsibilities and teams accordingly, at the same time we share the same goals and are evaluated based on the same objectives.
- Trust: Based on this, you need to rely and count on each other. In some areas, you need to step back and rely on the other person. You need to trust that the other person has the capability in his/her area. Hence, without this trust as a basis, you would end up in conflicts.
- Same Mindset: Another key element is to have the same mindset and attitude not only in your daily work but also as a people manager. This brings clarity to the teams. In our case, another common denominator is the energy level supporting the same speed within the different teams.
- No space for self-profiling: both are key resources for leading the company and therefore, there needs to be room for both people and the outcomes are often a combination of both Involvements.
The Main Benefits of Co-Leadership for Our Team
The main benefits of this leadership model for our team are:
- Diverse Perspectives: Our different backgrounds help us view challenges from multiple angles leading to more innovative solutions.
- Continuous Dialogue: Our close collaboration creates transparency and builds trust across the different teams and functions.
- Shared Responsibility: Joint decision-making distributes accountability and reduces pressure on individuals.
Adaptive Leadership: Finding the Right Structure for Growth
Our diverse skill sets and perspectives help us navigate complexity effectively. Our different experiences and viewpoints allow us to challenge each other, leading to better solutions and stronger decision-making. For the current phase of scaling Procivis, this setup is ideal. Whether it will remain the right model in the long term is yet to be seen. Leadership structures should always be tailored to the business’s needs at any given time. With a clear understanding of your company's goals, you can determine whether a single leader or a shared role is the best approach.
Two cents from Andreas
What I value most about the Co-CEO model is that you have someone on the same level to talk to and share ideas and challenges with. I’ve really come to appreciate this exchange. It’s not always harmonious—topics can be debated quite controversially—but in the end, you arrive at a decision which is not made from one person. It is a sanity check. You can share your problems —How do other single CEOs handle that? When one person runs out of steam, the other can keep going, and you can take a step back when needed. That way, you can maintain a consistently high pace.
By Désirée Heutschi, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Procivis AG
