The demanding nature of the chief executive role is underscored by the high rate of involuntary departures, approximately 25% in Africa between 2020 and 2024. These forced turnovers carry significant financial repercussions, costing shareholders millions of dollars in lost market value. This stark reality presents a challenge for boards tasked with CEO appointments and aspiring leaders aiming for the C-suite. The underlying question is why so many capable individuals and boards struggle with this critical decision. A common criticism of business leaders is their short-term focus, prioritizing immediate gains over long-term value creation, potentially driven by a desire to boost their own compensation. This raises the pertinent question: which African CEOs have demonstrated sustained success over extended periods? The 2024 list of top-performing CEOs, compiled by AfricanCEO magazine, endeavors to answer this very question.
The AfricanCEO magazine’s ranking of top CEOs aims to identify and celebrate enduring success, moving beyond the fleeting nature of quarterly or annual results. The methodology employed involves tracking and analyzing each CEO’s performance from the commencement of their tenure. This approach emphasizes long-term value creation rather than short-term gains. While the ranking initially focused solely on financial metrics, including total shareholder return and changes in market capitalization, it has evolved to encompass a broader perspective on leadership. Recognizing that social and environmental factors inevitably impact long-term financial performance, the methodology now incorporates Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance, weighted at 20%, alongside the 80% weighting for long-term financial results. This holistic approach aims to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of CEO effectiveness.
The ranking predominantly features CEOs who assumed their roles before 2020, although some exceptions exist. The performance of CEOs who started after 2020 is analyzed using returns generated from their starting date onwards. The inclusion of pre-2020 CEOs provides a longer-term perspective on leadership performance, revealing a stability in leadership roles, with roughly 70% of the top 100 having held their positions for several years. The ongoing evolution of the ranking methodology reflects AfricanCEO magazine’s commitment to refining the measurement of CEO worth and actively seeks reader input on the inclusion of less easily quantifiable aspects of leadership and potential further improvements to the evaluation process.
The magazine believes that in an increasingly transparent era, driven by big data, consumers and investors are no longer solely focused on share price. They are increasingly interested in understanding a company’s culture, values, and social behavior. This shift necessitates more comprehensive evaluation methods that encompass these vital factors. Peter SaSellu, the publisher and editor of AfricanCEO magazine, advocates for a long-term perspective in business, emphasizing that social and environmental issues are integral to long-term success and not merely peripheral concerns. This broader view of business acknowledges the interconnectedness of financial performance with social and environmental responsibility.
The 2024 Top 100 CEOs list represents a diverse group of leaders, spanning 18 nationalities and leading companies across 18 African countries. A notable 15% of the CEOs are women, reflecting a positive trend towards greater gender diversity in leadership positions within large corporations on the continent. However, the analysis encountered challenges, particularly with CEOs in Francophone countries, where frequent movement between countries made tracking progress difficult. Additionally, information on Francophone CEOs was often less readily available compared to their Anglophone counterparts, hindering a complete comparative analysis. The data collected for the ranking included CEO tenure, age, education, date of appointment, and other relevant information, with Nigerian CEOs being the most comprehensively represented due to greater data availability, followed by Kenya and South Africa. The magazine acknowledges these limitations and continues to seek ways to improve data collection and analysis across the continent.
The AfricanCEO magazine’s Top 100 CEOs list serves as a platform to showcase the best-performing CEOs in Africa. The ranking methodology combines financial performance evaluation with an assessment of each company’s ESG practices. The initiative aims to stimulate discussion on how business leadership performance should be measured in a more holistic manner, encompassing financial returns, ESG factors, and long-term sustainability. The magazine prioritizes CEOs of publicly listed companies due to the regulatory oversight and reporting standards these companies adhere to, ensuring greater transparency and accountability to stakeholders. This focus on publicly listed companies provides a more standardized basis for comparison and evaluation, enhancing the credibility and relevance of the ranking.
