Episode summary
How Is AI Affecting Leadership at Companies? This CEO Weighs In
At Barron's
· · Hosts: Andy Serwer · Guests: Constantine Alexandrakis
Summary
Russell Reynolds CEO Constantine Alexandrakis said the executive search business has shifted from finding candidates to assessing and attracting them, especially as LinkedIn and then AI made basic identity and contact information more widely available. He said the firm now leans on psychometric data and analytics to help clients de-risk hiring decisions, and that AI is speeding up service rather than replacing the core business.
A major theme was that AI is changing leadership more through change management than through technology itself. Alexandrakis argued that CEOs are spending more time explaining how AI will alter workflows, operating models, and employee behavior, while boards are pressing for answers and sometimes moving faster than companies can absorb the change. He said the head of AI role has also shifted from a technology post to a business transformation role.
He also said CEO turnover is at an all-time peak globally, with average tenure just over seven years in 2025 and falling, because boards are less patient and the job has become more complex and volatile. He sees boards increasingly adding retired CEOs and older members, while noting that co-CEO structures usually work only when they emerge organically.
Key takeaways
- Alexandrakis said Russell Reynolds does roughly 7,000 searches a year and has become more of a leadership advisory firm than a pure search firm.
- He said AI is mainly a change-management issue for CEOs, who must rethink workflows and operating models, not just adopt new tools.
- He said global CEO turnover is at an all-time peak and average tenure was just over seven years in 2025, down almost a year in 24 months.
- He said the chief AI officer role has moved from a technology job to a business transformation role over the last 12 months.
- He said boards are increasingly appointing retired CEOs and older directors, in part because active CEOs are too busy.
Notable quotes
“We do roughly 7,000 searches a year”
“the head of AI transformation is more of a a business transformation role rather than a technology role”
How the episode opens
Hello everyone and welcome to At Barrens. I'm Andy Serur and welcome to our guest Constantine Alex Andreus who is the CEO of Russell Reynolds the executive search firm. Constantine great to see you. — Thank you. Great to be here.
So tell us about the firm in terms of size. How do you how do you measure it? Uh well, we measure our our our size in terms of impact as a private partnership.
Um we know that we are among a few elite firms in the world that serve our clients at uh the level of of board and CEO work that we do. Um and we've got thousands of employees around the world that uh contribute to our mission every day. And our purpose is to improve the way the world is led.
uh which is something that um we're all very committed to.
Do you talk about revenue as a private company? — We don't talk about it uh publicly now. — Okay. How many searches do you do a year? I'm just trying to get a size. — We do roughly 7,000 searches a year,
Right? And and how does it work? Is it on a commission basis?
Do you have long-standing relationships with client companies? Uh so the revenue model is essentially u our every project whether it's a search project or a consulting project because we do both um has a certain fee associated with it and that's how we earn our fees um and uh our employees are compensated based on their contributions to the firm. You are one of four or five big executive search firms which are as you said are now sort of going into consulting as well and we'll get into that a little bit more.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- ai and leadership
- executive search
- company leadership
- ceo perspective
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Russell Reynolds Associates
Watch the episode
Watch “How Is AI Affecting Leadership at Companies? This CEO Weighs In” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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