Every company needs a visionary and an integrator1. Visionaries have the drive, creativity and vision to take the company off the ground. Integrators know how to make a growing business work like a well-oiled machine.
At the start, visionaries run the show because there will be nothing to integrate unless they are successful. As the business starts to scale, though, visionaries learn that the strength of their vision can only take them so far. The growing business requires a new set of skills.
These aren’t necessarily two different people but rather two skills businesses need. Sometimes, one person can do both. In other companies, different people play these roles. It could be two co-founders, a founder and a COO or two different CEOs, as it happened at Puraffinity, a London-based advanced materials company working to remove “forever chemicals” from water.
Henrik Hagemann founded the business a decade ago based on his research at Imperial College London. Today, as the business continues to scale, it’s led by a new CEO who took over just two months ago.
In this episode, Henrik and I discuss the differences between the integrator and visionary CEO skillsets, the process that led him to decide to step down as a founder CEO, the search process that considered no fewer than 340 candidates, his next steps, and the lessons he learned during this transition.
Enjoy the conversation!
Timestamps
(Clickable on YouTube)
00:00 Introduction
01:42 About Puraffinity
04:53 Henrik's Role as Founding CEO
08:57 The Decision to Step Down as CEO
23:30 The Search for a New CEO
35:57 Inclusive Hiring and Psychometrics Tools
39:36 Zeroing in on the Successful Candidate
42:16 Handover and Onboarding
46:29 Transitioning from CEO to New Role
51:29 Transition Lessons and Next Steps
56:56 Advice to Other Founders
01:01:30 Final Thoughts
This terminology comes from EOS: Entrepreneurial Operating System, a framework for running a business.
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