Co‑CEO Governance: An emerging trend in global corporates

In a world of growing complexity and rapid change, more companies are embracing co‑CEOs. Companies like Spotify, Oracle, Comcast, and Netflix are moving toward dual leadership to balance strategy, operations, and global scale. But does sharing the top spot help—or create more challenges?

By Kashmeera Sambamurthy| Oct 13, 2025 8:34 AM

Co‑CEO Governance: An emerging trend in global corporates

Still, co‑CEO models remain rare—fewer than 0.5 % of Fortune 500 companies employ them, underlining their atypical nature (as noted by Kamal Pal Hoda, Group CEO of Foundit’s parent, BluSpring). (Image Source: Unsplash)

Off late, a new — or perhaps long‑underappreciated — trend is gaining traction in the corporate world: co‑CEO structures. Firms across sectors have increasingly adopted dual leadership models. Let’s examine some prominent instances.

Spotify, the audio streaming giant, announced that Gustav Söderström (currently co‑President and Chief Product & Technology Officer) and Alex Norström (currently co‑President and Chief Business Officer) will assume the roles of co‑CEOs effective January 1, 2026.

Founder Daniel Ek will transition to the role of Executive Chairman and focus on long‑term strategy and capital allocation, while remaining involved.

Other examples include:

Comcast is appointing Michael Cavanagh as co‑CEO starting January 2026, to serve alongside its existing CEO, Brian Roberts, per media reports.

Oracle reorganized its leadership by appointing Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co‑CEOs, replacing Safra Catz (who became vice‑chair of the board).

Netflix has operated a dual CEO model since July 2020, when Ted Sarandos was elevated to co‑CEO alongside Reed Hastings.

Why consider co‑CEOs?

Hoda frames the co‑CEO model not as a mainstream norm, but as an emerging governance experiment. He notes that many companies adopt it temporarily — often during transitions, succession planning, or to smooth the handover between leaders.

In his view, co‑CEOs are especially attractive where:

- There’s a need to divide functional responsibilities (for instance, one leading operations, the other leading strategy or markets).

- A company operates across regions or business verticals where dual leaders can each focus on different geographies or units.

- Boards want to groom successor leadership without abrupt disruption.

Hoda suggests that in India, formal co‑CEO roles are still rare. Among NIFTY 50 firms, none officially adopt this structure. When dual leadership occurs, it tends to be:

- In IT services, to manage complex global delivery and client operations.

- In startups, to balance founder vision and operational scale.

- In multinational subsidiaries, to separate control over verticals or regions.

He cites past Indian examples—Wipro (joint CEOs in its IT business during 2008–2011), and newer firms like UrbanPiper or Innoterra—where shared leadership has surfaced as a practical workaround during growth phases.

Compensation and incentives in co‑CEO setups are evolving: pay is often tailored so that leaders are rewarded for complementary performance rather than competing goals. Equity, milestone‑linked incentives, and collaboration bonuses are used to align both leaders toward shared success.

Hoda forecasts that as Indian companies scale globally and diversify across verticals, the co‑CEO model may become more relevant—especially in fast-expanding sectors like tech services, fintech, or conglomerates.

As Indian business evolves, a co‑CEO structure can offer a way to split strategic vs. operational focus, while signaling a more collaborative leadership ethos to younger, more demanding talent pools.

However, critics like Jaideep Mehta (Managing Director, Rzolut) maintain that companies need a single accountable leader who bears the responsibility for decisions—“good or bad, they sink or swim with the company.”

Transearch’s Ashish Sanganeria adds that co‑CEOs work best in succession contexts, as they ease transitions particularly in founder‑led or investor‑driven companies.