The announcement coincides with the Group’s release of its #CtheFuture research, examining the skills and qualities CEOs and C-Suite leaders of the future will need, and the training and development programs required to enable their success.

This year’s CEO for One Month selection process began in February, involving more than 260,000 applicants from 46 countries. 46 talented young leaders of tomorrow were chosen to shadow the Adecco Group’s respective country CEOs.

Philipp Dahlem, CEO for One Month in Luxembourg, was very enthusiastic about this once-in-a-lifetime experience: "During the bootcamp I was able to meet extraordinary personalities and learn a lot about myself and others. During this month as CEO I was able to gain a very rich and valuable experience for my future career. This definitively reinforced my desire to take on leadership responsibilities in the future. Observing a CEO leading his teams and having a lot of success encourages us to strive toward success. "

Ten finalists were then chosen to take part in a ‘global bootcamp’, which took place in Dusseldorf this week. The three-day bootcamp took the finalists through a series of assessments and exercises designed to test their abilities and develop their future leadership potential. Following the bootcamp Sophia was selected as the Global CEO for One Month and will spend one month serving alongside the Adecco Group CEO, Alain Dehaze. Sophia will have the opportunity to contribute to the day-to-day running of the world’s leading HR solutions company and help shape the future world of work.

Commenting on the announcement, Adecco Group CEO, Alain Dehaze, said: “I look forward to working alongside Sophia, helping her develop new skills, and in a form of reverse mentoring, learning from her insights on the future of work and leadership. Our CEO for One Month program demonstrates the power of on-the-job training that is so critical in developing our future leaders.”

The Global ‘CEO for One Month’ 2019 Sophia Lim said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Adecco Group to work alongside Alain Dehaze and help shape my career, and the future of work. Experiential learning like this is the best way to prepare my generation to lead – and to become future CEOs. This opportunity will give me invaluable real-world experience, within a company that is empowering millions of careers. I can’t wait to get started.”

Alongside today’s announcement, the findings of a survey of 5,000 Gen-Z ‘leaders of tomorrow’ have been released.
With Millennials and Gen Zers set to make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025, the survey examines what skills
and qualities C-Suite leaders of the future will need to lead.

Key findings:

• 70% of Gen Zers say soft skills will be more important than hard skills for CEOs in 2050
• The #1 skill needed by future CEOs is an ability to successfully manage people and teams, followed by communication (#2) and creativity (#3)
• 51% believe CEOs will not need college degrees by 2050
• More than half (55%) say apprenticeships and experiential learning are the best way to develop future leaders
• Only 6% believe that University degrees are the best way to prepare future leaders with the soft skills they will need