Executive Search: What if the most relevant experience is experience of the unfamiliar?

Experience is one of the most persuasive forms of evidence in a senior appointment. A sustained record of achievement gives a board good reason to believe an individual can deliver.

But what happens when the conditions for success are changing?

PwC's 2026 Global CEO Survey found that 42% of CEOs have already taken their businesses into new sectors. Among those planning major acquisitions, 44% expect to invest outside their existing industry.

These figures tell an interesting story about business ambition. Even amid economic uncertainty, organisations are looking beyond established markets and commercial models to find their next opportunities for growth.

We've been examining these questions within our own business too.

In 2026, we launched CareerBox to extend our support across career development and transition. We've introduced BrandBox Echo to give organisations a clearer understanding of how they're perceived by prospective talent, and continued to develop BrandBox Folio to strengthen how businesses communicate their opportunities.

The same changing commercial landscape should influence the experience businesses seek in their leaders.

Consider an executive who has successfully led several acquisitions. Their results may be exceptional, their understanding of integration extensive. Yet the next acquisition could involve a business whose value depends on preserving precisely the independence, culture and ways of working that conventional integration would seek to consolidate.

The experience remains valuable, but the application requires a different kind of thinking.

With more than 20 years in search, I've worked with leaders across industries, markets and stages of business growth.

I've always been fascinated by the different ways people draw on their experience. Some develop powerful convictions about what works. Others become increasingly curious about what might work differently. The most interesting conversations often concern the moments when established approaches have been challenged, and what those experiences have revealed.

The value of experience extends beyond what it teaches us to know. It lies in how it prepares us to respond to what we don't.

I think the same principle applies to organisations.

As businesses prepare for 2027, the opportunities created by technological advances, shifting economic conditions and changing competitive dynamics will place new demands on our companies.

A strategy may be commercially compelling, but its success will depend on the infrastructure, investment, operating structures and leadership capabilities available to deliver it.

An operating model designed for efficiency at scale may leave little room for experimentation. Capital committed to established sources of revenue may limit investment in emerging opportunities.

A leadership structure that has supported years of growth may become less effective as the organisation develops new capabilities or enters different markets.

These are difficult strategic decisions because they involve weighing the value of what a business has already built against the possibilities of what it could become.

For me, this is where the discussion about talent becomes especially interesting.

When a business is considering its next stage of growth, I want to understand what that ambition will demand across the organisation. Where will new expertise be needed? What might the existing leadership team need to do differently? Could the greatest opportunity lie in developing internal capability, accessing specialist expertise or bringing in experience from another market?

The answers can influence the shape of a senior appointment, but they can also lead to decisions about organisational structure, workforce planning and how a business accesses the talent it needs.

I expect 2027 to bring considerable opportunity, alongside questions that none of us can answer with complete certainty today.

That's what makes the experience of the unfamiliar so relevant. It gives us a way to think about the future with the benefit of everything we've learned, while remaining open to possibilities we haven't yet encountered.

Talk to Denholm

At Denholm, we work with businesses to understand the leadership capabilities their ambitions will demand, and how best to access them.

If you're considering what your business needs next, we'd welcome the conversation.

Explore our Executive Search and Talent Solutions services, call us on 03303 359 818 or email connect@denholmassociates.com.