Talent Pipeline
The bench of internal + external candidates ready for key roles.
Succession risk is a real financial risk.
Cawan's Shoes 9-box succession grid for the top 42 leadership roles: • 24 roles have 2+ named internal successors ready in <12 months (57%). • 12 roles have 1 successor ready 12–24 months (29%). • 6 roles have no ready internal successor — external search retainer in place (14%, mostly digital/AI leadership). CEO succession: 3 named internal candidates (COO, President-Americas, Chief Brand Officer) + 1 external. High-potential program: 60 people, $2.1M/yr in coaching + rotations. 82% of last year's promotions came from this pool. Bench-strength score reported to the board every 6 months.
No pipeline = leadership vacuums when key people leave.