CEO Celebrity vs CEO Credibility

For a company to be highly regarded, the CEO needs to be visibly engaged with the company's many audiences.

A full eight in 10 executives (81%) report that it is important for CEOs to have a visible public profile for a company to be highly regarded.

This was not always the case. Years ago, CEOs and those around them confused CEO visibility with CEO celebrity. Today, it is not about CEO celebrity, but CEO credibility. Today, CEO visibility means having a greater presence, but this time, with greater purpose.

Executives with highly reputable leaders are even more likely to agree that CEOs need a visible presence. Among executives who report that they work for CEOs with a very strong reputation, a full 88% believe that it is important for CEOs to have a visible public profile, a figure which is significantly higher than those with CEOs who have weak reputations (69%).

Despite these differences, the findings are clear that executives expect their CEOs to be publicly engaged if they want better corporate reputations. To have admirable reputations today, CEOs are going to have to embrace their public personas.

Active external relations by the CEO have the potential to be a highly effective reputation builder, but are not without some risk. Therefore, engagement activities need to be strategically planned and thoughtfully managed to fully leverage all the upsides. When executives were asked whether CEO visibility positively or negatively impacts corporate reputation, an equal number said it improves reputation (41%), or can either improve or harm reputation (41%). Only 10% think that CEO visibility hurts a company’s reputation.

CEO visibility is not without risk, but the rate of executives who think it improves reputation suggests that effectively managing a CEO’s public presence can go a long way toward contributing to a company’s success and stature.