The Cost and Considerations for External Executive Candidates—Directorship Magazine

With CEO and CFO turnover reaching record levels, directors are becoming more focused on talent strategy. This has added additional pressure for directors to weigh the benefits of promoting internal leaders with the risks and costs of hiring externally. According to Farient Advisors’ analysis, nearly 90 percent of new S&P 500 CEOs over the past five years were promoted from within. Yet when boards do look outside, they often face steeper compensation packages—external candidates typically receive significant sign-on or replacement awards, resulting in pay that can exceed their predecessors by 30 percent.

In an article for Directorship magazine, Farient Partner Angela Moe and Sustainability Practice Leader Brian Bueno examine the causes of rising executive turnover, the trade-offs between internal versus external candidates, and the pay implications boards must carefully consider. Their insights underscore the importance of a proactive talent strategy, succession planning, and transparent communication to ensure compensation decisions support—not overshadow—the leadership transition.

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About Angela Moe

Partner, Head of New York Consulting Operations, Farient Advisors

New York
(646) 626-6934
angela.moe@farient.com

Angela Moe is a Partner with Farient Advisors. She has 10 years of executive compensation and governance experience. In this capacity, she leads client relationships and many of Farient’s business development efforts. She also serves on Farient’s Operating Committee, which provides oversight to recruiting, training, and development teams.

In her client work, Angela focuses on designing pay plans that support corporate strategy and align executive and shareholder interests. Angela works with clients such as S&P 500 companies as well as privately held and entrepreneurial organizations. Her experience spans multiple industries, including oil and gas, financial services, technology, utilities, consumer products, and industrials.

In addition, she collaborates with our Global Governance and Executive Compensation (GECN) Group partners on global clients with a focus on strategic compensation and governance issues.

Angela is active in the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), WorldAtWork, Council of Institutional Investors, and other prominent organizations. She has co-written articles for industry publications and is known for her expertise around talent management, goal-setting, and performance measures.

Prior to joining Farient, Angela worked in HR Workforce Planning for NextEra Energy, where she identified ways in which to improve diversity goals, and recommended strategies for succession planning.

Angela holds a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations with a Concentration in Statistics, and a Minor in Business.

 

About Brian Bueno

Sustainability Practice Leader, Farient Advisors/GECN Group, New York

New York
(646) 626-6929
brian.bueno@farient.com

Brian Bueno is the Sustainability Practice Leader at Farient Advisors. In this role, Brian guides the firm’s strategy, research, and analysis on sustainability and corporate governance matters. Brian focuses on the still-evolving sustainability landscape and its intersection with executive compensation and incentives in order to assist clients in understanding stakeholder considerations and developing and implementing appropriate programs that help create stakeholder value.

Prior to re-joining Farient in 2022, Brian was Vice President and product manager at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a leading proxy advisory firm, where he led the development of solutions that assist institutional investors in evaluating executive compensation and related areas at their portfolio companies across global markets. Additionally, at ISS’s Corporate Solutions arm, Brian led the creation and management of product platforms that allow companies to benchmark themselves across executive compensation and ESG topics.

Prior to joining ISS in 2015, Brian worked at Farient, where he managed the development and delivery of Farient’s Performance Alignment Reports and associated research, including analyses on executive pay definitions and financial performance metrics and their link to shareholder value. At Farient, Brian also worked with clients across various industries, including energy, industrials, banking, and insurance. And before Farient, Brian held a market research role involved in identifying opportunities and risks in particular industries and communicating findings to clients and media.

Brian holds a BS from the University of Southern California’s (USC) Marshall School of Business with a triple concentration in finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

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