Recruiter, outside executive on the outside executive role

Research evidence excerpt

Recruiter, outside executive on the outside executive role

9 July 2026

Mizuho Securities Equity Research ESG

Industry Overview

Hiring method, financial independence, and team building are vital

This report provides a summary of a 7 July Mizuho ESG+ presentation by

Chihiro Shibata, head of Sunnycareer, on the role of the outside executive from

the perspective of a recruiter and outside executive. Ms. Shibata talked about

the skills that outside executives need and about the criteria for evaluating their

effectiveness, which does not include the number of outside executives. The

following are some of the main points covered.

Companies need outside executives capable of overseeing

succession plans

An outside executive’s most important job is overseeing a company’s

succession plan. In plain terms, this means they are responsible for the

dismissal of CEOs who do not live up to shareholder expectations. The job

cannot be done by outside executives who are friends or acquaintances of

the CEO. Caution is warranted when academics or former bureaucrats are

tapped for this role. While some feel that an outside executive should have a

Senior Analyst: diverse skill matrix, people with management experience tend to be the ones

Yuka Hayashibara who are effective at making real contributions. Caution is also warranted for

+81 3 6202 8167 companies with too many executives. Rather than maintaining the ratio of

yuka.hayashibara@mizuho-sc.com inside to outside directors by adding an outside director when adding an inside

director, companies should remove internal directors who are not fulfilling their

duties. Failure to do this may indicate that the CEO lacks leadership skills.

Another key outside executive job is having a grasp of the situation before a