Greenwich, Conn., July 29, 2026 – RSR Partners is proud to recognize Steven M. Mollenkopf, Independent Chair of The Boeing Company, as The Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. Chair of the Year Award recipient for the 2025–2026 proxy year. Steve is the third annual recipient of this distinguished award.
The Chair of the Year Award was established to celebrate the legacy of Russ Reynolds, an industry icon who spent more than 50 years advising corporate boards and CEOs. The award annually recognizes an Independent Chair who has helped guide a board and company through significant turbulence while demonstrating exceptional leadership, character, and integrity. Rather than a lifetime achievement award, this honor recognizes a leader who stepped up to meet the moment when it mattered most. The recipient is chosen by an independent selection committee of renowned experts in their fields, including strategic communications, activist defense, investments, human capital, and governance.
“Steve Mollenkopf’s leadership as Chair came at a defining moment for Boeing,” said Brett Stephens, Chair of the selection committee and CEO of RSR Partners. “The company’s transformation is ongoing, but Steve’s leadership has helped establish a stronger path forward for both the board and the enterprise. His impact on board culture, effectiveness, and governance during a period of extraordinary consequence makes him a deserving recipient of this recognition.”
“As a director, you want to know that your experience and perspective matter, and Steve creates that environment,” said Akhil Johri, a member of The Boeing Company board of directors. “He cares deeply about the company, listens carefully, both in the boardroom and outside it, draws out the best thinking, and helps convert a range of views into clear priorities. That ability to harness the full intellectual capital of the board has and will continue to have a meaningful impact on how we help Boeing succeed.”
“Steve is precisely the kind of leader this award was created to honor,” stated Russ Reynolds. “He is motivated by service rather than recognition, approaching his role with quiet confidence and a clear desire to make a lasting contribution. Steve leads with integrity and character, always keeping his focus on the company and the people who depend on it.”
About Steve Mollenkopf
Steve brings to the Board critical insights in engineering leadership, risk management, complex global operations and human capital management from his more than 25 years of service at Qualcomm, an engineering-driven, high-technology manufacturing company and a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry. During his tenure as CEO of Qualcomm, he led the company through significant change and unprecedented challenges. Steve possesses expertise and direct leadership experience in precision engineering, project management, manufacturing, quality control and designing testing regimes for complex systems. He also brings corporate governance expertise and perspectives on a wide array of strategic and business matters from his service on the board of Dell, a global technology company focused on providing broad and innovative technology solutions for the data and artificial intelligence era. Steve is a published IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) author and an inventor on 38 patents. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. As a result of his complex manufacturing expertise, his engineering background and his record of independent leadership at Boeing, the Board elected Steve to serve as independent Board Chair.
Steve is Chair of the Board and a member of the Compensation Committee, the Governance & Public Policy Committee, and the Special Programs Committee.
About Russell S. Reynolds, Jr.
Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. (“Russ”) is an American business executive, author, and founder of two of the search industry’s most prominent firms. Considered one of the pioneers of the executive search and board recruiting profession, Russ has counseled the boards and CEOs of many of the world’s leading companies over the past 50 years. In 1969, he founded Russell Reynolds Associates, which soon became one of the world’s foremost international executive recruiting firms. Russ sold his interest in the firm in 1993. In 1994, Russ founded The Directorship Group, later named RSR Partners, where he served as Founder and Chairman until 2022.
About the Chair of the Year Award
RSR Partners announced the establishment of the Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. Chair of the Year Award in October of 2022. The award celebrates the legacy of Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. (“Russ”), who has spent more than 50 years advising boards and CEOs on leadership and governance.
To be eligible for the award, a nominee must serve as a Chair of a board of directors at a U.S. public company with revenue or market cap greater than $1 billion. The winner of the award is chosen by an independent committee comprised of renowned experts in the areas of strategy, finance, strategic communications, shareholder activism defense, investment management, human capital consulting, and corporate governance. This year’s committee included:
More information about the award can be found at: www.chairoftheyearaward.com.
About the RSR Partners
RSR Partners is a leading boutique retained board and executive search firm, headquartered in Greenwich, CT, dedicated to assisting boards and CEOs with their most crucial leadership needs. Established in 1993 by industry visionary Russell S. Reynolds, Jr., our firm brings over three decades of specialized experience in board and executive recruiting, strategic selection, and seamless succession planning.
We have successfully completed thousands of high-impact engagements for a diverse clientele, including public companies, mutual fund complexes, foundations, private equity-backed firms, and family-owned businesses. Our expertise spans a wide array of sectors, notably asset management, industrial, consumer, financial services, healthcare, marketing and digital, and technology.
###
Contacts
Lindsay Griesmeyer
+1 (203) 618-7076
media@rsrpartners.com
Selecting a new chief executive is one of the most consequential decisions a board of directors will ever make. In today’s environment, defined by rapid disruption, shifting stakeholder expectations, and relentless competition, the margin for error has never been smaller.
Across industries, organizations are facing a common reality: growth opportunities are abundant, but leadership is often the limiting factor. What made a CEO successful in the past is no longer sufficient. Operational excellence alone is not enough. Market position alone is not durable. And experience alone is not predictive.
The modern CEO must operate at the intersection of strategy, culture, technology, and execution.
In response, boards are redefining what they look for in leadership. Extensive research and executive assessment work consistently point to three essential competency areas that distinguish top performing CEOs: Connect, Adapt, and Deliver.
CONNECT: Influence People. Build Trust. Unite the Organization.
Today’s CEO is not just a strategist. They are the central force aligning a complex ecosystem of stakeholders.
The most effective leaders connect authentically with employees, customers, investors, partners, and boards. They do not rely on authority. They earn followership. They inspire belief, align teams around a shared purpose, and create trust in moments that matter most.
Command and control leadership is obsolete. High performing CEOs lead through clarity, transparency, and emotional intelligence. They communicate with precision, especially under pressure. They take accountability. And they create environments where people feel heard, valued, and motivated to perform.
The role requires exceptional relationship building. CEOs today operate within increasingly complex stakeholder networks, both internal and external. The ability to navigate competing interests, build alignment, and maintain credibility across constituencies is critical.
Bottom line: The next CEO must unify, not just manage, the organization. They must build trust at scale and mobilize people behind a shared mission.
ADAPT: See Around Corners. Embrace Change. Lead Transformation.
Every industry is being reshaped by technology, data, and evolving customer expectations. The pace of change is accelerating, and standing still is not an option.
The best CEOs are not just operators. They are forward looking, adaptive leaders. They anticipate disruption, ask the right questions, and act decisively ahead of the curve. They are comfortable challenging legacy assumptions and redefining business models when necessary.
Importantly, they do not need to be technical experts, but they must be technologically fluent. They understand how digital, data, and artificial intelligence shape competitive advantage. They surround themselves with strong experts and make informed, strategic bets on the future.
Adaptability also means leading through uncertainty. Whether navigating macroeconomic volatility, regulatory shifts, or societal expectations, great CEOs maintain focus while driving meaningful change. They balance resilience with urgency.
Boards should also consider non traditional backgrounds. Leaders from adjacent industries often bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches that legacy operators may not. Bottom line: Boards should prioritize CEOs who can evolve the organization before external forces force change upon it.
DELIVER: Execute Relentlessly. Build Elite Teams. Drive Results.
Ultimately, leadership is measured by outcomes.
The modern CEO must translate vision into results, consistently and at scale. This requires operational discipline, clear accountability, and the ability to execute against both short term priorities and long term strategy.
Financial acumen is essential. CEOs must understand the key drivers of value creation, including growth, margins, capital allocation, and risk. They do not need to be financial experts, but they must lead with a strong command of the business.
Equally important is talent. High performing CEOs build and develop exceptional leadership teams. They attract strong operators, empower them, and hold them to high standards. They create cultures of performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.
They are decisive when it matters, making tough calls on people, priorities, and investments. They actively shape culture, recognizing that sustained performance is rooted in organizational health.
Diversity of thought, experience, and background is not optional. It is a competitive advantage that drives better decision making and stronger outcomes.
Bottom line: Boards must prioritize CEOs who deliver measurable performance while building organizations capable of sustaining it.
The Takeaway
What separates a good CEO from a great one today is not pedigree or charisma alone. It is a powerful combination of connection, adaptability, and execution.
The best CEOs are:
Connectors who align people and build trust
Adapters who lead transformation and anticipate change
Deliverers who execute and drive sustained performance
They unify organizations, lead through disruption, and raise the standard of performance across the enterprise.
For boards, the implication is clear. CEO selection can no longer rely on intuition or legacy profiles. It requires a rigorous, forward looking assessment of leadership capability aligned to the demands of the future.
The stakes are simply too high to get it wrong.
###
Brett Stephens is the CEO of RSR Partners and helps lead the firm’s Board & CEO Services.
RSR Partners is a boutique professional services firm headquartered in Greenwich, CT, that specializes in helping Boards and CEOs with their most critical recruiting, selection, and succession needs. The firm was founded in 1993 by industry icon and Chairman Emeritus, Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. Over the past 30 years, the firm has conducted thousands of projects for Boards and CEOs at public, private equity owned, and family-owned businesses across a range of industries including asset management, consumer markets and enterprises, financial services, healthcare, industrial, marketing and digital, and technology. To learn more about RSR Partners, click here.
Governance has meaning only when a board confronts uncomfortable questions honestly. Much of what passes for governance—process, cadence, reporting—accumulates regardless. Stewardship begins only when a board takes responsibility for what must be preserved, and what must change, so that the enterprise’s continuity is meaningful rather than merely nominal.
Stewardship is often confused with preservation. Boards frequently mistake habit for purpose and continuity for stewardship when they are really protecting familiarity—structures, roles, and assumptions that once worked but may no longer. Stewardship is not concerned with preserving form so much as with preserving the enterprise’s capacity.
That distinction matters because endurance, by itself, is never the point. What ultimately justifies continuity is whether the enterprise continues to serve a purpose worth carrying forward. When continuity becomes the objective rather than something ordered to purpose, governance begins to turn inward. Institutions begin protecting themselves rather than the work they exist to do.
Not every enterprise should last forever. Some should transform, others should combine with different institutions, and a few are best served by the harder work of ending well rather than lingering badly. Those outcomes are often treated as failures of stewardship, when in reality they are sometimes its clearest expression. Without a purpose worth carrying forward, endurance gradually gives way to inertia.
Purpose, when taken seriously, is never abstract. Every enterprise sits within a web of human reliance: employees whose livelihoods depend on it, customers who rely on and trust it, suppliers who plan around it, and communities shaped by its presence. Whether boards acknowledge this explicitly or not, the web of human reliance is already part of its purpose. Ignoring that reality does not make decisions more objective, but it does make them less attentive to the obligations they carry.
Including the web of human reliance in the enterprise’s purpose does not excuse underperformance; it raises the standard. A business that cannot remain economically strong will fail those who depend on it faster than one willing to change in uncomfortable ways. An enterprise that cannot remain economically strong will not be able to honor the obligations it carries, regardless of the purposes it claims.
Stewardship becomes demanding precisely because boards are always operating under constraint, required to act with incomplete information, limited time, and competing obligations. There is no framework that resolves the trade-offs between continuity and change, performance and patience, people and capital. There is only judgment, exercised repeatedly, and ownership of the consequences that follow.
In practice, that judgment is most often expressed through disciplined inquiry rather than insistent direction. The most effective board members are rarely the most prescriptive. Their contribution lies in the questions they ask—questions management cannot easily sidestep and questions other directors may hesitate to raise. Over time, those questions shape decisions more profoundly than instruction ever could.
This does not mean boards never give guidance. At true inflection points—strategic shifts, leadership transitions, distress—direct guidance is part of the job. But when boards default to instruction rather than inquiry, they often undermine the accountability they are meant to reinforce. Asking questions is essential governance, because it leaves ownership of action and outcome with those charged to carry it.
Disciplined inquiry only works when it is backed by real authority. The board’s questions carry weight because they exist in the shadow of its most serious responsibility: the selection, evaluation, and, when necessary, removal of the CEO. That responsibility should be exercised rarely and deliberately, but it cannot be treated as unthinkable. A board unwilling to contemplate CEO change is not stewarding the enterprise so much as avoiding the responsibility that authority entails.
Pressure alone cannot sustain stewardship, because boards that never affirm quietly erode their own authority. Stewardship therefore requires boards to say, explicitly and without hedging, when they believe the enterprise is being led well and in the right direction. That affirmation is neither permanent nor unconditional, but it signals shared ownership of the strategy and its risks, and it gives management the confidence to act decisively rather than defensively. Over time, inquiry draws its force from affirmation that has been earned, and accountability becomes credible only where support has been real.
Different ownership structures fail stewardship in different ways. Family enterprises often struggle with avoidance born of personal and relational proximity. Public companies are tempted to substitute defensibility for judgment under constant scrutiny. Other ownership models are structured around deliberately shorter horizons. The contexts differ, and so do the pressures they produce, yet the underlying burden of stewardship does not disappear. Stewardship rarely proceeds comfortably. It resists the promise of certainty without responsibility, change without cost, or endurance without purpose, and in doing so it requires patience, friction, and a willingness to act without the assurance of immediate understanding.
Stewardship is less something to be implemented than a way of proceeding, shaped through judgment exercised over time. It asks boards and owners to decide with the future in mind, to change what must be changed to preserve what matters, and to accept that responsibility cannot be fully hedged or explained away.
###
Thames Fulton is a senior member of the firm’s Board Recruiting practice. He also supports the firm’s Chief Executive Officers, Industrial Technology, and Family-Owned Businesses practices. He is a functional specialist working on board recruiting, corporate governance consulting, and best-in-class succession planning for both board members and CEOs. He serves as a board- and CEO-level advisor assisting clients with ascertaining and recruiting the optimum balance of skills and experience required to build robust and effective boards and corporate governance processes in support of successful businesses.
The C-suite landscape is fundamentally reshaped. It’s no longer enough to hire for deep functional expertise; today’s challenges demand a new blend of tech fluency, strategic foresight, and cross-functional agility. As we head into 2026, many organizations face a critical talent gap: finding leaders equipped to govern a world that didn’t even exist last year.
This shift is perhaps most evident in the marketing function, where the role has exploded in scope.
The CMO’s Evolution from Brand Steward to Growth Engine
The modern CMO is rapidly becoming the Chief Growth Officer (CGO), focusing on: Revenue Accountability: Direct ROI and P&L Ownership—making marketing a true financial partner to the CFO.
To meet these expanded expectations across the entire C-suite, the search has intensified for a new kind of executive.
The true talent gap is not about finding experienced leaders, but those with the propensity to adapt to rapid change and ambiguity. The new C-suite profile demands these critical competencies:
Organizations that proactively invest in reskilling current executives and strategically recruiting leaders who embody this new, future-forward profile will be the ones that define the new era.
###
Kimberly Melcer leads the firm’s Marketing practice. She specializes in recruiting for C-suite roles across the AdTech, MarTech, digital, and marketing sectors at start-ups, privately held companies, and public organizations.
