Palladium splits CEO role into four
Professional services firm Palladium has installed four new executive officers functioning as equal partners are set to lead the company. Two of the appointees, Sinéad Magill and Jose Maria Ortiz, are based in London.
Co-CEO leadership is a management structure in which two individuals share the responsibilities and duties of a traditional CEO role. Both individuals have equal authority and decision-making power, and they work together to lead the company towards its goals. The dual-leader system is a tradition in private equity, but only about 4% of public companies have two chiefs. More than two CEOs is likely even less common, though.
The news that four executive officers will now lead global consultancy Palladium, will probably raise a few eyebrows, then. But following the decision of Christopher Hirst to step down as CEO, after nearly 25 years with the company, this is not the first time the firm has turned to alternative management practices.
“This is a model that’s worked before within Palladium,” said Sinéad Magill, one of the four Palladium executive officers. “We have many years of first-hand experience with similar partnership structures at the regional level and know that when well executed, they break down silos, increase diversity of thought, and improve decision-making. Collective leadership represents an emerging trend, and we’re excited to apply our experience globally.”
Magill will continue to lead Palladium’s UK and Europe business, delivering impact in more than 30 countries worldwide. She boasts more than has 20 years of experience leading positive impact programs, with projects spanning humanitarian response, governance reform, post conflict stabilisation, economic growth and social inclusion. She played a key role in the UK programming in Iraq and subsequently delivered programmes in Afghanistan, Palestine, Uganda and Syria, during which time she founded one of the UK's leading stabilisation and recovery teams.
Operating from Palladium’s London office, Magill will be joined as an executive officer by Jose María Ortiz. Drawing on 25 years of experience helping government and private sector organisations transform the societies where they operate – most recently in Europe, Africa, and India – Ortiz heads up Palladium’s impact investing and natural capital businesses. Having started his career at PwC, he first joined Palladium in 2015, as a managing director in its Gulf Cooperation Council wing.
Alongside them, US-based Ricardo Michel and Australia-based Bernadette Howlett also become Palladium executive offices, and are also longstanding leaders for Palladium clients and staff. As a global impact firm with operations in over 90 countries, the new executive officer quartet will be focused on a set of ambitious goals for 2025, including impacting the lives of 150 million people across the globe.
Speaking on his successors, outgoing CEO Hirst commented, “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together and excited for this next phase. Sinéad, Ricardo, Bernadette, and Jose Maria are some of the strongest and most capable leaders in the industry. Our future is incredibly bright.”
Founded in 1965, Palladium is a global advisory firm with offices in London, New York, Washington, Dubai and Brisbane. Recent projects have seen it partner with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to help launch India’s first social impact bond; and UK National Parks, which it helped launch a project to restore natural habitats with private capital that has since been recognised at the Business Green Leaders Awards.
It is a distinct entity from digital change management Palladium Digital. James Prebble remains the CEO of that firm.
