Why private CEOs don’t get the support their peers expect

Life at the top of a private company can be what I call “commercially lonely.” This HBR article suggests 50% of CEOs feel lonely in their role and 60% of those believe it hinders their performance. While CEOs of publicly traded corporations and large enterprises benefit from structured governance frameworks, independent directors, and formal advisory mechanisms, their counterparts leading private companies often navigate critical decisions in relative isolation. This disparity in access to structured guidance for private companies represents one of the most significant yet overlooked challenges.

The Governance Gap 

The difference begins with structure and expectations. CEOs of larger companies operate within rigorous governance frameworks that mandate independent oversight. Public company boards typically include multiple non-executive directors who bring diverse expertise, challenge assumptions, and hold management accountable. These leaders expect and receive regular input from experienced professionals whose primary role is to provide objective counsel.

Private company CEOs face a starkly different reality. Many private companies operate with boards comprised of executive shareholders or founder-directors. These individuals, despite their passion and commitment, often share similar blind spots and operate within echo chambers where ideas go unchallenged. When the leadership team defaults to agreement with every CEO initiative, the organisation may miss critical opportunities or overlook significant risks.

The Control Paradox 

One reason private company CEOs lack structured advice is the very thing that attracted many entrepreneurs to private ownership in the first place: control. Appointing independent non-executive directors means potentially diluting decision-making authority. For founder-CEOs who have built their businesses from the ground up, relinquishing any control can feel counterintuitive, even threatening.

Yet this creates a paradox. The desire to maintain complete control often prevents CEOs from accessing the exact guidance that could accelerate their growth and help them make better decisions. Research from the Business Development Bank of Canada found that companies with structured advisory support showed 24% higher average annual sales and 18% higher productivity compared to comparable companies without such frameworks. The reluctance to share control, ironically, may be limiting the very success these leaders seek to protect.

The Talent Pool Challenge 

Even when private company CEOs recognise the value of independent guidance, they face practical obstacles in securing it. Attracting experienced board members to private companies proves difficult for several reasons. Unlike public company directorships, private board roles often lack the prestige, compensation, and defined responsibilities that appeal to top-tier talent. Additionally, many qualified candidates are reluctant to assume the legal liabilities associated with formal directorship in closely held companies where control is concentrated.

This creates a catch-22: private companies need sophisticated guidance to scale and mature, but their current size and structure make it challenging to attract the very expertise that could help them grow. The result is that many promising businesses remain trapped in what I call the “champagne aspirations with ginger beer resources” conundrum: their ambition outpaces their capability to execute.

The Cost of Going It Alone 

The absence of structured advice carries real consequences. Private company CEOs must decide on strategy, market expansion, technology investments, and talent development, often without the benefit of others who have already travelled that path. When faced with existential threats, from market disruptions to global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, these leaders must rely primarily on their own judgement and the input of team members who may broad commercial experience.

Without objective sounding boards, CEOs may fall victim to confirmation bias, missing alternative perspectives that could reveal better pathways forward. Strategic blind spots go unaddressed, leadership team development stalls, and difficult conversations with co-shareholders or directors get postponed indefinitely, creating organisational inertia that holds the business back.

The Advisory Board Solution 

The solution to this governance gap lies in a structure that balances the need for expert guidance with the CEO’s desire to retain control: the Advisory Board. Unlike a formal board of directors, an Advisory Board provides private company CEOs with hand-picked, experienced advisors who offer independent counsel without exercising control over company decisions.

An Advisory Board consists of professionals with specific skill sets and relevant commercial experience, focused on empowering the CEO to make better, more informed decisions. These advisors challenge thinking, test the organisation’s ambition, and provide objective perspectives on strategy, capability, resources, and execution, all while the CEO retains final decision-making authority.

This structure addresses the core challenges private company CEOs face. It eliminates commercial loneliness by creating a confidential forum for discussing sensitive issues. It provides access to domain-relevant expertise without requiring the CEO to relinquish control. It establishes a level of governance and accountability that improves decision-making while remaining flexible enough to adapt as the business evolves.

Making the Shift 

A study by the Business Development Bank of Canada found that 86% of leaders believe having an Advisory Board significantly impacted their business success. The primary areas of impact include company vision, innovation, risk management, and profitability.

Private company CEOs need not continue navigating their challenges alone. While they may not have the same formal governance structures as their larger company counterparts, they can create support frameworks that are arguably better suited to their needs, combining the expertise and objective counsel that drives better decisions with the autonomy and control that drew them to entrepreneurship in the first place.

The question isn’t whether private company CEOs deserve the same calibre of advice as their large company peers. They absolutely do. The question is whether they’re willing to embrace a structure that provides it.

Written by Anthony Moss.