Emma Combe
speaker
323 appearances
4 recordings
1 series
first heard Jan 2026
last heard 9 Sep
Emma Combe’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 4 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 1.
Appearances
Trust does not arrive with a job title.
It is built by taking time to understand the story of the enterprise and listening broadly.
Every decision carries significant weight.
Actions that appear routine to the CEO may be interpreted very differently by the family.
Ultimately, the most successful outside CEOs understand that they are both leaders and custodians.
They respect the past while helping the enterprise move confidently into the future.
If you have any topics or burning questions you'd like us to cover in future episodes of the Leadership Lounge, do get in touch.
Email your questions to redefiners at russellreynolds.com.
Until next time, goodbye.
Welcome to the Leadership Lounge, a place to kick back and listen as our experts dissect some of the biggest questions leaders face today.
I'm Emma Coombe, Leadership Advisor in our London office.
In today's episode, we're talking about the rise in interim CEO appointments and how you can succeed in that role.
Some of the most notable leadership successions of recent decades have included an interim chapter.
Tim Cook served as interim CEO at Apple before ultimately succeeding Steve Jobs, while Howard Schultz returned as interim CEO at Starbucks multiple times during key transition periods.
And more recently, Stella David was appointed permanent CEO at Entain after initially stepping into the role on an interim basis.
But taking on an interim CEO role isn't easy.
You're often expected to provide stability during uncertainty, make important decisions from day one and build confidence among employees, investors, customers and the board.
All while everyone knows your appointment may be temporary.
So how do you establish trust with your executive team, make difficult decisions and create momentum when your future in the role remains unclear?
And if your ambition is to become a permanent CEO, how do you approach that conversation with the board?
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