Do Co-CEO Leadership Models Work For Companies?

Merchant Warehouse was founded by close friends, Scott Zdanis and Henry Helgeson, in 1996. The company pulls in around $35 million in annual revenue and now has 170 employees. The friends realized neither one wanted to have a boss, or be the only boss, so right from the start it was clear they needed to run the company as co-CEOs.

Staff is well aware that the leaders reach their decisions jointly and will bring in their executive VP, David Vance, if there ever is a deadlock. After all, the only thing better than two heads, is three!

Utilizing a dual leadership system enables each partner to focus on his strengths. Zdanis is the motivational leader while Helgeson’s focus is technology and keeping the database at state-of-the art level. The men are both incredibly passionate about their business and enjoy the checks and balances created by a joint decision making process. The company has clearly benefitted, enjoying growth even throughout the recession.

Though there are many benefits of having dual CEO’s, it is not always the best choice.  If not carefully set up, pitfalls can include problems such as inadequate role definition, lack of streamlining in the leadership and problems making decisions. But, when the two people in charge are friends and willing to work together and compromise things are great. If a founder takes on a co-CEO things might work well. A huge benefit of sharing the leadership position is that each person may be able to have more personal balance in their lives, avoiding the grueling workdays that are so common to top executives.

As Zdanis recently said, “Having two CEOs in place is like a marriage and requires close communication and faith in the other person.”