06-19-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

Boards stopped giving new CEOs time to find their footing

Here’s what it takes to lead from day one.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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BY Meredith Rosenberg

The clock doesn’t start on day one anymore. For decades, the “first 100 days” framework allowed new executives a structured runway—time to listen, assess, and earn trust before making consequential decisions. That window quietly closed. What replaced it isn’t a shorter timeline, but a fundamentally different set of expectations.

Boards aren’t granting CEOs time to “learn the business.” They expect judgment from the start, and the tolerance for ambiguity has collapsed. Successful leaders must arrive pre-oriented, understanding the real mandate, the hidden risks, and how decisions are made before they walk through the door.

THE PRE-WORK NOBODY TALKS ABOUT

My career has spanned more than 25 years at the intersection of education, innovation, and leadership. I help place transformative leaders at the highest levels of the education and edtech sectors. Today, that work increasingly centers on the executives shaping AI’s integration into education—from university presidents navigating institutional transformation to CEOs of venture- and private equity-backed edtech companies building the next generation of learning platforms.

This moment is unique because AI is reshaping strategy, governance, product development, workforce planning, and institutional relationships with students and educators.........

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