Bridging the Succession Gap: A Playbook for Family Business Continuity

The Call That Changed Everything

I’ll never forget a client call in late 2016. A third-generation manufacturing business, based in Europe, lost its CEO unexpectedly over the Holidays..

The board assumed they could hold the fort for six months while a successor was found. It took three years. Two interim leaders came and went. Market share fell by 15%. Competitors quietly snapped up contracts.  Enterprise value fell by a third.

And here’s the bitter truth: the delay wasn’t caused by a lack of talent. It was because there was no formal succession plan in place — no clarity on what the family actually wanted, no governance to fall back on, and no external perception management to prepare the market.

This wasn’t an anomaly. It was the succession readiness gap — the predictable crisis many families see coming but still avoid preparing for.

Why This Matters Now

The latest PwC Family Business Survey (2025) mirrors what I see in the field:

• 66% of family businesses expect a leadership transition within the next 7 years.

• 66% have no formal written succession plan.

• A written, regularly updated plan improves the odds of a smooth transition by 177% (Family Business Institute, 2023).

 “Succession planning isn’t an event. It’s an ongoing strategic discipline.” – Family Firm Institute

For a CEO, that 177% isn’t just a number. It’s the difference between a dignified, controlled transition and a drawn-out, value-draining crisis.

The Cost of Delay

Delaying action is human nature but in leadership transitions, it’s an expensive indulgence.

In my experience, the delay often isn’t about not caring. It’s about not wanting to have the hard conversation.

• “We’ll get to it after we’ve dealt with “the issue de jour.””

• “This is too important to rush into- we need to take our time.”

• “We’ll get to it next year.”

• “We’re not ready to talk about Dad stepping back.”

• “We don’t think Aunty is ready to start talking about stepping back.”

• “We don’t want to upset the family by making a choice now- let’s wait awhile- there’s no rush.”

Every quarter without a plan increases your risk exposure and when the moment comes, you won’t be negotiating from a position of strength.

Define Success Before You Name a Successor

One of the first exercises I run with family business shareholders and CEOs is deceptively simple: “What does success look like in your succession?”

In a recent workshop, here’s what I heard:

• “Keep it family-owned.”

• “Preserve the values, even if we have to sell.”

• “Maximize shareholder value.”

• “Avoid another sibling fallout.”

No two answers matched. That’s goal misalignment, plain and simple.

And here’s the trap: without alignment, even the best successor will be walking into competing agendas. It’s like asking someone to captain a ship where the crew can’t agree on the destination.

CEO takeaway: Decide the “what” before you discuss the “who.” Write it down.

Governance Is Essential — But Trust Decides the Outcome

Shareholder agreements. Role clarity. Buyout provisions. All non-negotiables.

But here’s what the Global Family Enterprise Research Project (2024) showed:

• Strong intergenerational relationships = 75% confidence in smooth transition

• Weak relationships = 13% confidence

I’ve seen this play out time and again: you can have pristine legal documents and still implode if there’s no trust between the generations.

Governance without trust is brittle. Trust without governance is fragile.

Your job is to build both, in parallel.

Outdated Agreements: The Silent Value Killer

A case that still frustrates me: two brothers and a cousin had drafted buy-back provisions decades earlier when they had no children. The clause allowed shares to be repurchased for a token sum upon death.  The childless cousin tragically died in a car accident aged 41 – at that time the business was loss making and looked like it may close so the 2 brothers executed the clause and moved on.  Through hard work and some luck the business grew and ultimately prospered.  The brothers never found the time to revisit the relevant shareholder agreement clause. 

Decades later, children were in the picture. One brother then died. His children expected shares worth millions. The company executed the clause, buying them back for almost nothing.

The legal right was clear. The human fallout was catastrophic.

Best practice: Review governance documents every 3–5 years. Even if you think nothing’s changed.

The Perception Gap That Can Sink a Transition

I once worked with a founder who had indicated a desire to step back from day-to-day operations years earlier. He said that he would resign from the board- he did- and appoint a CEO from outside the business to take that business to the next stage.  Subsequently- a succession of talented CEO’s were appointed- all ultimately failed.

Externally, every customer, supplier, and journalist thought the CEO was running the show. 

Internally, the founder kept an unofficial office in the headquarters building and attended that office for 2 afternoons a week. No major decisions were implemented without his agreement irrespective of what his board and the CEO wanted.  Thus he kept firmly in control.  This went on for years.

That brand identity lag is dangerous. It erodes market confidence and makes the incoming leader’s job twice as hard.

Succession planning must include a narrative transition: external visibility, public positioning and deliberate credibility-building both internally and externally for the successor.

When Selling Is the Smartest Succession Plan

 Not every family business should be passed on. Sometimes, the most strategic, values-led decision is to sell.

Campden Wealth’s 2024 research shows that values-aligned sales can:

• Preserve culture through contractual clauses

• Provide multi-generational liquidity

• Reduce cousin-stage governance complexity

The only way this works is if it’s considered early, not under duress. Forced sales rarely protect legacy and destroy the seller’s shareholder value.

The CEO Succession Readiness Checklist

Score yourself 0–2 on each:

1.    Written, current succession plan in place

2.    Shared definition of “success” agreed by all key stakeholders

3.    Governance documents up-to-date

4.    Next generation engaged and prepared

5.    Internal and external perception of leadership aligned

6.    Contingency plan for sudden loss of key leaders

12 or above → Well-prepared

8–11 → Risk present — act now

Below 8 → High exposure — prioritize immediately

A 5-Stage CEO Succession Playbook

Stage	Key Actions
1. Align	Define “success” and secure written agreement from all key players.
2. Govern	Audit and update documents, roles, and ownership agreements.
3. Coach	Develop the next generation with real responsibility and structured exposure.
4. Communicate	Manage perception inside and outside the business before the transition date.
5. Iterate	Review every 3–5 years or after significant events.

About Deabadh Group

Deabadh Group works with family shareholders, Family offices, CEOs, boards and leadership teams on high-stakes transitions for family enterprises, founder-led organizations and multi-generational leadership teams.

We:

• Audit governance and succession plans for structural and cultural resilience

• Engage and develop next-gen leaders through education, mentorship and exposure

• Align stakeholders before conflicts can derail the plan

• Manage perception so successors are trusted before they step into the role

Our clients range from the largest family businesses in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific to smaller players who are focused on growth.

About the Author

William Warren

Group CEO, Executive Search & Leadership Strategy – Deabadh Group

William leads Deabadh Group’s executive search and succession practice, partnering with founder-led and private enterprises to build resilient, high-performing leadership teams. With over 25 years’ experience advising C-suites and boards across Europe, North America, and Asia, he brings a rare combination of commercial insight, organizational psychology and strategic clarity.

A qualified executive coach and certified Hogan practitioner, William is known for guiding leadership transitions that unlock long-term value—not just fill seats. His earlier career in the city of London shaped his sharp focus on performance, value creation and sustainable leadership.

An accomplished public speaker, William served as National President of the Association of Speakers Clubs from 2015 to 2016, where he championed leadership communication and helped develop the next generation of public speakers.

Outside of work, he’s a passionate long-distance endurance cyclist (most recently Rome to London) with a love of Formula 1, space exploration and anything that pushes the boundaries of human performance.

Final Word — and an Invitation

The most successful CEOs I’ve worked with don’t treat succession as an afterthought. They treat it like any other strategic initiative — resourced, measurable and reviewed regularly.

If your plan isn’t written and stress-tested, you’re running an avoidable risk.

Your legacy is too important to leave to chance.

📌 Book a 30-minute Succession Audit with Deabadh Group and take the first step toward protecting your business, your family and your future.