Talent as a CEO-Level Strategic Imperative

By Tony Cinello, Founder – Anthony Andrew

A few years back, I worked with a founder-CEO who had just crossed the $100M revenue mark. He was brilliant—product-oriented, financially disciplined, deeply respected by his board.

But his leadership team? It looked like a group of early employees who happened to be in the room when things started going well.

He told me, “We keep missing our growth targets, and I think it’s a people issue.”

I said, “No—it’s a leadership design issue. And that’s a strategy problem.”

What followed was a full reframing. We mapped his org not by function, but by value creation. We rebuilt his C-suite, brought in operators with the scar tissue to scale, and aligned hiring with the same rigor he used in M&A.

That company hit its targets the following year. And when they went to market 24 months later, they got a multiple that surprised even their bankers.

The lesson? Talent is not an HR problem. It’s a CEO-level strategic lever. And the leaders who treat it that way are the ones who outperform.

The Talent Gap Isn’t Just Operational—It’s Philosophical

Let me say this clearly: the future will be won not by companies that build the best product, but by companies that build the best leadership ecosystems around those products.

And yet, many CEOs still treat talent like it’s downstream:

• Recruiting reports into HR

• Succession is a spreadsheet exercise

• Executive hiring is reactive—triggered by departures, not strategy

• People decisions are delegated, not owned

Meanwhile, they’re spending hours reviewing capital budgets, debating product roadmap features, or sitting in investor meetings wondering why the leadership team feels "light."

But talent isn’t a line item. It’s leverage. And when you’re in the $25M–$1.5B range, there’s no insulation between your team’s capability and your business’s performance.

CEOs Who Win Think Like Capital Allocators—Not

Resumé Reviewers

When I work with high-performing CEOs, especially those backed by private equity, I see one common trait: they think about talent like an investor.

They ask:

• Where are we underexposed from a leadership perspective?

• What roles are mission-critical over the next 18–24 months?

• Who on our team is scalable—and who’s situational?

  
  

They’re not afraid to turn over the bench. But they do it with discipline, not panic.

One CEO client recently told me, “I treat every leadership hire like an M&A decision—what’s the return on this person?”

That mindset is what turns talent from overhead into strategic equity.

What Strategic Talent Involvement Looks Like

Now, I’m not suggesting CEOs spend their week in panel interviews or reading resumes. But I am suggesting that if you want to outpace competitors, your involvement in talent strategy must reflect the weight of the outcomes you expect from your team.

Here’s how the best CEOs engage:

1. They Treat the Org Chart as a Strategic Model

The org chart isn’t a headcount report—it’s a map of your value creation engine. If you wouldn’t fund a product without a roadmap, don’t build an executive team without one either.

2. They Show Up Early in Leadership Hires

When I run retained searches, my best clients are in the room on Day 1. They articulate what winning looks like, where the business is going, and how this role is a lever—not a vacancy.

That’s what attracts high-caliber talent. Not just compensation—but conviction.

3. They Review Talent Strategy Like Capex or M&A

Talent reviews are treated like board meetings. Metrics. Risks. Gaps. Not just “who’s good” but “who’s built for what’s next.”

Story from the Field: The 3-Year Payoff

One of my favorite CEOs I’ve worked with ran a services business that was nearing plateau. EBITDA was strong, growth was modest, and his board wanted to double in size over three years.

He didn’t start with a new GTM strategy. He started by asking, “Do I have the leadership team to scale a company twice this size?”

The answer? No. We rebuilt the team over four key searches. CFO. Chief Revenue Officer. Head of Talent. GM for a new market.

His role shifted too—from founder/operator to talent architect. Three years later? He hit the goal. Exited at a 4x multiple. And the buyer valued the team as much as the customer list.

That’s what CEO-level talent strategy looks like in action.

If You’re a CEO, Ask Yourself:

• Do I review talent gaps and leadership planning at the same pace I review financials?

• Am I personally involved in the hires that impact growth, capital efficiency, or exit strategy?

• Does my leadership team reflect where we’re going—or where we’ve been?

If the answer to any of those is unclear, it’s time to treat talent as a board-level discussion.

Because talent is no longer a back-office topic. It’s a front-page one.

Final Thought

I don’t say this lightly: the CEOs who will win the next 5–10 years are already thinking about talent differently.

They’re not asking, “Who do I need to hire now?” They’re asking, “Who do I need to become as a leader to attract the talent that will take us forward?”

They know:

• Talent decisions are capital decisions

• People strategy is growth strategy

• And every leadership seat is either a multiplier—or a bottleneck

  
  

If you’re ready to compete on talent—not just product, price, or capital—start with this:

Own the pipeline. Lead the narrative. Make talent your strategy.

—

Tony Cinello Founder | Anthony Andrew

References 

• Harvard Business Review. (2022). Winning on Talent in the 2020s. Retrieved from https://hbr.org

• LinkedIn Talent Solutions. (2023). CEO Engagement in Hiring Decisions: Global Survey Report. Retrieved from https://business.linkedin.com

• Gartner. (2023). C-Suite Priorities and Talent Strategy Alignment. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources