Never Chase a Title (and what you should chase) | Kelly O. Kay
Finding Peak with Ryan Hanley · Ryan Hanley
Oct 13, 2026 · 53 min
Show notes
A CEO search for a big-brand public company. A name comes up, and the chairman of the nominating and governance committee shuts it down. He knew that person 20 years ago, and that person was a jerk. A reputation from two decades back, settled in one sentence, in a room the candidate never saw.
Kelly O. Kay, a partner at Heidrick & Struggles and co-author of Show Up to Win, was working that search. He tells his six kids never to chase money, and he tells executives never to chase a title. Chase the CEO title and you'll get it, at a company you won't want to run.
I break down more field-tested…
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