- Mani Makkar, 27, from India, has been named as the Adecco Group’s 2021 Global CEO for One Month.
- The CEO for One Month programme builds next-generation leaders in a post-pandemic world of work.
- #CtheFuture 2.0 research, also released today, examines what the next generation of leaders want from the world of work. Key findings are:
- Mental wellbeing is of utmost importance.
- University degrees are not as important as they used to be for senior leaders in business.
- Demand for soft skills in leaders is on the rise. 79% of respondents said soft skills would be more important to future leaders than hard skills.
- The future is flexible. 87% want flexible working hours that allow them to achieve a work-life balance.
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The Adecco Group announces 2021 CEO for One Month and releases new research highlighting the future of work from the perspective of future leaders.
Mani Makkar, 27, from India, has been named as the 2021 Global CEO for One Month to work alongside Alain Dehaze, CEO of the Adecco Group. The announcement coincides with the Group’s release of its #CtheFuture 2.0 research, examining the profile of future leaders regarding education and skills, access to labour markets, the global health pandemic, and flexible working practices.
The Adecco Group’s CEO for One Month programme builds next-generation leaders, with a focus on the new profile of leadership required in a post-pandemic world of work. The pandemic has demanded a new set of required leadership competencies and these expectations will accelerate the reinvention of the modern-day leader.
Following an 8-month selection process involving more than 147,000 applications from all over the world, Mani was chosen to spend one month serving alongside the Adecco Group CEO, Alain Dehaze. He will contribute to the day-to-day running of the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company and help shape the future world of work.
For the first time in the programme’s history, two people will work together with the Adecco Group CEO: this year’s Mani, as well as 2020 Global CEO for One Month, Jordan Topoleski. Jordan’s CEO for One Month experience had to be postponed to this year, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. This gives the two talented young leaders the unique experience of not only developing their skills and knowledge through the CEO for One Month programme, but also to share in the experience and learn from each other.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Adecco Group CEO, Alain Dehaze, said:
“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mani Makkar to the Adecco Group, as the culmination of the CEO for One Month programme. I very much look forward to working closely with Mani and being inspired by the fresh new perspectives and insights that he brings to the table. Currently in its eleventh edition, the CEO for One Month programme is now more important than ever. With the landscape of the work world forever changed by the global pandemic, we must reinvent ourselves to adapt to the new leadership profile. The CEO for One Month programme is not just a unique career opportunity for the person chosen to be the Global CEO for One Month. It also offers us, the Adecco Group, the invaluable opportunity to develop and learn from the leaders of the future, as they prepare themselves to lead in times of uncertainty and disruption.”
The 2021 Global CEO for One Month, Mani Makkar, said:
“I am thrilled to have been picked as the Adecco Group’s CEO for One Month, especially as the process brought together a group of such talented individuals. I’d like to congratulate all the finalists and wish them well for the future. It’s such an exciting opportunity and I’m really looking forward to helping the Adecco Group define the future of work, rethink the dynamics of the workplace, and define what it means to be a leader. This is especially true during these difficult times when the world of work is being so drastically changed by the pandemic.”
Alongside today’s announcement, the findings of a survey of future leaders have been released. The #CtheFuture 2.0 research, from the Adecco Group Foundation, comes at a time when sweeping workplace changes continue to shape the post-pandemic world of work – taking a toll on mental health and upending work arrangements and attitudes in numerous ways. The results show that, in our new world, flexible working hours will be expected by our future leaders.
Key findings:
- Mental wellbeing is of utmost importance. Following the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, mental health is the number one concern that future leaders have about the future of work – outranking access to the world of work and pay equality.
- Contrary to the growing consensus in the business community that university degrees are not as important as they used to be for senior leaders in business, 54% of tomorrow’s leaders still think CEOs would benefit from having a degree. This is up from 49% when asked the same question in our last #CtheFuture survey, done in 2019.
- The demand for soft skills in leaders is on the rise. 79% of respondents said soft skills would be more important to future leaders than hard skills. This is up 10% since the 2019 #CtheFuture survey.
- Of the soft skills, “people management and leading teams” and “communication” top the list, while “emotional intelligence” climbs up to the position of the third most valued soft skill.
- The future is flexible. 87% of future leaders want flexible working hours that allow them to achieve a work-life balance. This desire is equally distributed between male and female respondents.
The full research report can be accessed here.
SOURCE The Adecco Group (press release)
