Michael Ensser elected Chair of Egon Zehnder

Michael Ensser has been elected Chair of Egon Zehnder (Photo: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- Michael Ensser has been elected Chair of Egon Zehnder by the partnership of the world’s leadership advisory firm, assuming the role on Nov 1, 2022, and succeeding Jill Ader, who has chaired the Firm since 2018 and will transition to an advisory role.

Over his 25 years at Egon Zehnder, Ensser has played key roles, including leading the German market, the second largest for Egon Zehnder, where he pioneered Leadership Advisory services, as well as leading the Switzerland market.

Prior to that, Ensser led the Berlin Office, which under his leadership grew to one of the biggest offices in the Firm. He currently serves on Egon Zehnder’s board, co-chairing its People Committee and is also chair of Germany’s Board Academy, co-created with McKinsey and KPMG, which prepares executives for non-executive board positions. He also helped to launch Egon Zehnder’s second global knowledge centre in Budapest.

Ensser was elected by Egon Zehnder’s partnership, where every partner has an equal vote in the selection of the chair, a legacy from the Firm’s eponymous founder, who believed strongly in true partnership and good governance. Elections take place every three years, and chairs can serve for a maximum of two terms.

“I am honoured and grateful to our partners for placing their trust in me to lead our Firm in this next chapter,” said Ensser. “Building on our Firm’s values, we will continue to grow our Firm’s leadership advisory capabilities to better serve our clients, deliver on our commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and increase our focus on sustainability.”

Ensser’s election is part of a planned succession. The chair must be a partner in the Firm, and the partnership has a tenure limit of age 62. Following those guidelines, Ader will retire from the partnership of Egon Zehnder later this year, and she will transition to a senior adviser role, focusing on both client work and helping colleagues to flourish.

“Jill has been nothing short of outstanding as our chair, helping to crystallize our values, increase our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and amplify our role as leadership advisers and coaches,” said Edilson Camara, Chief Executive Officer of Egon Zehnder in a statement.

Egon Zehnder is the world’s preeminent leadership advisory firm, inspiring leaders to navigate complex questions with human answers.

-- BERNAMA