C-Suite Interview Best Practices Part Two: Optimizing the Interview Panel and Flow

In part one of this series, we discussed best practices when hiring for the C-suite, including interview panel composition, process efficiencies, and enhancing the candidate experience. In part two, we will delve deeper into interview best practices for each function, specifically outlining interview panel and interview flow best practices. Optimizing this process ensures that you will evaluate candidates both efficiently and effectively, improving your ability to select the right executive for the role the first time.

Tailoring the Flow of Interviews for Each Function

C-suite interview processes typically involve a standard set of stakeholders: the CEO, Investors, Board Directors, Leadership Team members, and occasionally direct reports. However, each executive role requires unique expertise and competencies. By strategically sequencing interviews and tailoring evaluation criteria, your hiring team can more effectively assess the specialized capabilities necessary for success in each distinct C-suite position.

When Hiring a CEO

Investors and Board Members should take the lead in a CEO interview sequence. The process should kick off with a high-level conversation to gauge the candidate’s alignment with the company’s vision, mission, and goals, followed by conversations that explore past successes and strategic capabilities.

An immersive in-person “super day” is requisite for a CEO hire. This often includes meetings with the Board and leadership team, a “case study” where the candidate presents a business plan leveraging details from a redacted board deck or similar, and a team dinner to assess culture compatibility.

“Evaluating vision and strategic capabilities are central to the CEO search process. By focusing interviews on understanding the CEO candidate’s perspective on the investment thesis and market opportunity, stakeholders can better assess if a candidate is aligned with the value creation plan. Whether diving in on past experiences, compiling deep reference data, or evaluating a 30-60-90-day plan, understanding how a CEO communicates vision, builds strategy, and aligns to near-term value creation objectives is of the utmost importance.” – Bob Reitinger     

When Hiring a CFO

Success in this role depends equally on CEO partnership dynamics and technical financial expertise. Begin the interview process with two critical conversations:

• CEO interview: The first conversation should be with the CEO, with the goal of assessing the CFO’s leadership skills, strategic alignment to the organization’s strategy, and ability to effectively communicate and partner with the CEO.
• Investment team interview: The goal of this second interview is to assess the candidate’s technical financial acumen and capacity to interface effectively with the Board.

An in-person “super day” with case studies, team interviews, meetings with direct reports, and a team dinner or outing are also common practice.

“Today’s CFOs are conducting more due diligence during the interview process – asking for in-depth information on financials, transaction timelines, value-creation plans, and the like. Sharing this information is mutually beneficial to candidates and hiring teams – enabling CFOs to better understand the business while providing insight into how they assess information.” – Craig Wallace

“For the best outcome in today’s candidate-favoring market, CEOs and investors should focus on organizing an efficient interview sequence to ensure they get a CFO who has the technical capabilities, strategic mindset, and communication skills desired.”  – Lisa Philippi

When Hiring a COO

This operational leadership role requires exceptional execution skills and people management capabilities. The interview process typically begins with the CEO, focusing on three critical areas:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Evaluate whether the candidate has implemented meaningful KPIs in similarly-sized organizations. Ask for specific examples of how they’ve used metrics to drive business outcomes. Sharing the company’s current operational scorecards and having candidates analyze them will provide valuable insight into their analytical approach.
• Execution Excellence: Assess the candidate’s track record of translating strategy into operational results. Have them outline their process for prioritizing initiatives, allocating resources, and managing deadlines across multiple functional areas.
• Team Leadership: Since COOs typically oversee multiple departments, their people leadership capabilities deserve special attention throughout the interview process. One revealing assessment technique is asking whether former direct reports have followed them between companies. This question provides insight into their leadership magnetism and potential to build loyal, high-performing teams at your organization.

“People leadership is mission critical. As COO, you must be able to connect and build credibility vertically within the organization – from the Board to the field organization. Understanding the “how” – how the candidate built credibility, how they impacted operational efficiency, how they drove and implemented new process – must be clearly understood.” Kevin Kuzmick

When Hiring a Go-To-Market (GTM) Leader

Beginning with the first call with the CEO, interviews should center on past success. Focusing on revenue generation, customer acquisition, and go-to-market strategy will provide intel into how the candidate engages customers, penetrates new markets, and executes on sales strategies. Conducting thorough reference checks as early as possible is imperative and should further validate prior experience and alignment to role.

Later conversations with the investment team should determine if the candidate aligns to the value creation plan – this is often done through case studies or having candidates present 30-60-90-day plans during an in-person interview.

“More than any other function, robust referencing and early back-channel referencing is best practice. Similarly, understanding past success in a business with a similar growth strategy is a priority. When hiring a GTM leader, you want someone who has seen the movie before, with a referenceable track record of success.” – Chris Grimmig

Candidate Experience

While the interview flow and focus areas will vary by role, delivering a positive candidate experience is critical in every executive hiring process. All candidates should feel respected and valued at every stage. To create a consistently positive impression, prioritize these key elements:

• Clear Communication: Keep candidates informed throughout the hiring process. Clearly define who they will meet, what to expect, and provide specific timelines for next steps.
• Time Efficiency: C-level executives are busy. Streamline the process by avoiding excessive interviews, utilizing virtual meetings, and consolidating evaluations into in-person “super days” to drive efficiency and prevent interview fatigue.
• Feedback Loop: Provide timely feedback to maintain candidate engagement. Remember that every interaction shapes how your company is perceived – even when a candidate isn’t selected, their experience and impression of the company and hiring process matter.

By aligning the interview structure with the unique demands of the role – whether CEO, CFO, COO, or GTM leadership – you can more effectively assess candidates’ capabilities while optimizing the experience for all involved. Understanding which areas to emphasize, how to evaluate for functional expertise, and optimal panel composition will ensure that you’re identifying the right leaders for your organization.

In part three of this series, we will address how to reference, key questions to ask to assess a candidate’s performance track record and if their experience aligns to the role.