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A CSO preparing for the step up to Group CSO or CEO, in an office overlooking the city

Strictly confidential

CSO to Group CSO / CEO Readiness Audit and Strategy

Are you ready for the bigger seat? And if not yet, what exactly stands in the way?

I am aiming for
Begin your audit Rate yourself first

₹30,000, all-inclusive of GST.

  • Ten dimensionsread against your actual record, not your opinion of it
  • A plain verdictand if you are not ready yet, it says so
  • Then the routewhat to start, stop and amplify, in a dated sequence
  • 45+CSO placements by our practice, across a decade

Why one audit will not do

Two seats. Two different tests.

The towers of a business district, for a group of many companies

Group CSO

Can you decide what a group of businesses should own, and bring the business heads with you?

Who decides
The chair or promoter, the Group CEO and, for a senior-management seat, the Nomination & Remuneration Committee.
What changes
Advising one CEO becomes shaping a portfolio. You decide which businesses grow and which are sold, and what each must return.
The usual gap
Running a programme of deals rather than one, owning integration after signing, and moving business heads who do not report to you.
A senior leader in thought in a private office, with city towers beyond the window

CEO

Can you run the business, and not only design its strategy?

Who decides
The board, the Nomination & Remuneration Committee and, where there is one, the promoter family or lead investor.
What changes
Recommending becomes deciding and delivering: revenue, customers, people, and the results your own plans promised.
The usual gap
Direct P&L ownership, leading a large organisation, and being known beyond the strategy community.

Before you pay anything

Rate yourself as the committee would.

For each of the ten, ask one thing: could I show this to someone who has never met me? Nothing you choose here is stored or sent.

  • Portfolio Strategy Across Businesses

    Deciding which businesses the group should grow, fix, hold or leave, and on what evidence.

    The usual gap Many CSOs have shaped one business’s strategy. A group seat asks you to judge businesses against each other.

  • Capital Allocation & Return Hurdles

    Setting what each business must return, and moving capital to the ones that earn it.

    The usual gap A CSO recommends where to invest. A Group CSO sets the bar every business is judged against.

  • M&A Programme Ownership

    Running a sequence of acquisitions to one thesis: origination, pricing, negotiation and the board case.

    The usual gap Advising on one deal is not the same as owning a programme of them.

  • Divestments, Demergers & Restructuring

    Selling, demerging or closing businesses, and the board and promoter conversations that come first.

    The usual gap Buying is easier to argue for. Few CSOs have led a sale the founder resisted.

  • Integration & Value Capture

    Owning what happens after signing, until the deal earns what the board was promised.

    The usual gap Integration is often handed to operations at closing, so the outcome never shows on your record.

  • Moving Business Heads

    Getting business CEOs who do not report to you to adopt the plan and fund it.

    The usual gap With one CEO behind you, you have authority. Across a group, you earn it business by business.

  • Board & Strategy Committee Standing

    Being the person the board’s strategy or investment committee relies on for the group’s direction.

    The usual gap Presenting to a board is common. Being the one its committee asks for is not.

  • Chair & Promoter Confidence

    Being the person the chair or promoter calls first on a portfolio question, and the one who gives the uncomfortable answer.

    The usual gap Strategists are often trusted by the CEO alone. A group seat needs the chair’s trust as well.

  • New Business Building

    Starting new businesses inside the group, from the first case to a business that stands on its own.

    The usual gap Writing the case for a new business is common. Running one to revenue is rare.

  • Investor & Market Narrative

    Explaining the group’s portfolio choices to investors, analysts and lenders, so the market prices them fairly.

    The usual gap A group trading at a discount needs its strategy explained in this room, and most CSOs are never in it.

What you receive

A verdict first. Then what to do about it.

The Audit

  • A plain verdict for the seat you chose
  • Ten dimensions read against your record: evidenced, partial or not yet evidenced
  • What the people deciding would ask you about each gap

The Strategy

  • The route: inside your company, or the move that gets you there
  • What to start, stop and amplify, in a dated sequence
  • How to present your record to the people who decide

Strictly confidential · Prepared for you alone

Readiness Audit

CSO to Group CSO

VerdictClose, with two gaps to fill

  • Portfolio Strategy Across BusinessesEvidenced
  • M&A Programme OwnershipPartial
  • Integration & Value CaptureNot yet evidenced
  • Moving Business HeadsPartial
  • Board & Strategy Committee StandingEvidenced

First moveOwn the integration of the next acquisition, through to its two-year review.

Illustrative layout

Your audit

₹30,000 to know where you stand.

All-inclusive of GST, for the audit and the strategy together. No account is needed.

  • The Ascent

    Free, 3 minutes

    You rate yourself and see where you think the gaps are.

    Take the free self-check →

  • This audit

    One seat, your actual record

    We read your record as the people deciding would, and show how to close what is missing.

  • Career Strategy

    All your moves

    For when you have not settled on a seat: pathways, pay and global mobility.

    See the Career Strategy →
  • Undecided between the two seats? We read your record against both, and say which is closer
  • We contact you within one working day
  • We do not contact your employer, and nothing is published

How it works

Four steps, all in confidence

  1. Tell us the seat

    Group CSO, CEO, or both if you have not decided.

  2. Send your CV and answers

    We contact you within one working day to take them in confidence.

  3. We read your record

    Against all ten dimensions, as the people deciding would.

  4. You receive both

    The audit and the strategy, together.

What we need from you

  • Your current CV, in any format
  • The seat you are aiming for, or both if you are undecided
  • Your answers on what you have owned, in your own words
A committee of senior leaders in discussion around a table

Why an executive search firm

We know what is said after you leave the room.

Gladwin International has been an executive search firm since 2010. Its CSO practice, led by Anandh Shanmugaraj, has made 45+ CSO and strategy head placements across a decade-long practice. This audit gives you the reading a committee would not.

  • Plain, even when it is not welcome

    A board rarely tells you why you were passed over. We do, before they have the chance.

  • Between you and us

    We do not contact your employer, and nothing is published.

What it does not do

  • It does not put you on a shortlist, and not buying it does not keep you off one
  • It does not get you the role, and no one can promise one
  • It does not flatter. If your record does not support the seat yet, it says so

Before you decide

The questions we are asked first

How do I know if I am ready to move from CSO to Group CSO or CEO?

You are ready when your record, not your own rating of it, answers what the people deciding will ask. For Group CSO that means deciding what a group of businesses should own, and seeing it through. For CEO it means owning a P&L, customers and people. This audit reads your record against ten dimensions for that seat and gives a plain verdict.

How much does the Readiness Audit cost?

₹30,000 for the audit and the strategy, all-inclusive of GST.

What is the difference between a CSO and a Group CSO?

A CSO sets strategy for one business, alongside its CEO. A Group CSO works across many: deciding which businesses the group should own, running a programme of acquisitions and exits, setting what each business must return, and answering to the chair, the promoter or the board’s strategy committee.

What does it take for a CSO to become a CEO?

Boards look for evidence that you can deliver a plan and not only write it: direct P&L ownership, leading a large organisation, an integration you saw through to the numbers, and being known beyond the strategy community.

How is this different from The Ascent?

The Ascent is a free three-minute audit in which you rate yourself. This audit reads your actual record as the people deciding would, covers Group CSO as well as CEO, and comes with a strategy.

What if I have not decided between Group CSO and CEO?

Tell us. We read your record against both and say which one is closer.

Will it tell me if I am not ready?

Yes. If your record does not support the seat yet, the audit says so and shows what would change that.

Will my employer find out?

We do not contact your employer and nothing is published.

Does buying this put me on a shortlist, or get me the role?

No. It is separate from our retained searches: buying it does not put you on a shortlist, and not buying it does not keep you off one. No one can promise a role, and we do not.

A board in discussion in a Mumbai boardroom

A board rarely tells you why you were passed over.

₹30,000, all-inclusive of GST. A plain verdict, and the route to the seat.

Begin your audit Rate yourself first

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