2. Are Polish Top Managers Euro-Class?
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
Stanton Chase International is one of the world‘s leading
retained executive search companies with 73 offices in
46 countries, and more than 350 specialised consultants
around the globe. In order to be able to provide its
customers with an accurate assessment of the current
mood in specific markets and countries, Stanton Chase
regularly conducts extensive opinion surveys among top
managers in various key countries. The aim of these
surveys is the close monitoring and analysis of national
and international trends and developments.
One such survey was carried out in October 2012 in
Poland. Almost 1,000 top executives took part in the
survey. The survey was carried out in Polish and was
the first such survey carried out by the Stanton Chase
Warsaw office. We are pleased with the high response
rate and delighted to share the results.
The results closely correlate with the insights gained by
Stanton Chase executive search consultants and
specialists in their day to day contacts with the leading
executives in Poland.
This survey consisted of 23 multiple choice questions in
three different categories. Respondents were asked to
give their opinions on:
 the current economic situation and outlook
 personal career drivers
 whether top Polish managers of today are Euro
class.
The respondents were also representative of the key
business industry sectors including Consumer
Products and Services, Technology, Industrial, Life
Sciences and Healthcare, Logistics and
Transportation, Natural Resources and Energy,
Financial Services, Professional Services,
Government, Education and Non Profit.
The key results
The three most important findings of the survey are:
1. Cautious Economic outlook for 2013
The CEOs are cautious on the economic outlook for
2013 with almost 60% of all respondents pessimistic of
the economic outlook in their specific business sector.
Technology, natural resources and energy are regarded
as the industry sectors with the best perspective of
growth in 2013.
2. Innovation and Leadership
Innovation, or an ability to think “out of box”, together
with leadership and charisma are the competency
requirements of CEOs for business today.
3. Polish Top Managers today are Euro-Class
It is generally believed that the key strengths of top
Polish managers are the delivery of results, crisis
management, restructurisation, productivity,
decisiveness and change management. On the other
hand, the key areas for improvement are international
work experience, sustainability, strategy, a more open
democratic management style and communications.
Polish top managers are comfortable in international
meetings and are regarded as propagators of change.
2. CURRENT ECONOMIC SITUATION AND
OUTLOOK
It is almost impossible to conduct any meaningful
business discussion without reference to the economic
climate. We have behaved no differently in our survey.
Positive climate in 2012
Our CEOs in Poland took a rather positive view of the
current business climate in 2012 compared to the
previous year. The vast majority, 75% of all respondents
state it was the same or better. However 35% state it
actually improved, but 25% claim it to have deteriorated.
better
35%
the same
40%
worse
25%
Assesment of the current situation in your
business compared to last year

3. Caution for 2013
This optimism on current mood in 2012 is in contrast to
the economic outlook for 2013 which is more cautious.
Almost 60% of all respondents were pessimistic of the
economic outlook in their specific business sector. The
responses were however moderate with only 7%
showing either a very optimistic or very pessimistic
outlook.
Of specific interest is the response to which business
sectors are envisaged to have the best perspective in
2013.
A clear majority of the CEO respondents expect the
technology and the natural resources and energy
sectors to be the top performers in 2013. These
business segments are the clear leaders and are closely
followed by consumer products and services,
professional services, and healthcare and life sciences.
At the other end of the spectrum, media and
entertainment, and government, education and non-
profit sectors are perceived by the CEOs to have most
difficulty in 2013. They are followed by financial services,
industry, and logistics and transportation.
It should be noted that over half the CEO respondents
were from either the industrial or the consumer product
and service business segments. However, media and
entertainment, government, education and non-profit
organizations, and financial services amounted for only
5% of the respondents which could partially explain the
low ranking of these sectors.
3 PERSONAL CAREER DRIVERS
“Job challenge” rather than “remuneration and job
security”
Despite the on-going global crisis, the key factors for
CEO job satisfaction remain the classic personal drivers
of a job challenge, freedom to make decisions and the
possibility to achieve results. These are closely followed
by company values and the ability to progress and
develop in the organisation. The CEOs remuneration
package was ranked only in a low ninth place and
scored by only 28% of the respondents.
Most surprisingly in these volatile times is that job
security came in penultimate place and was chosen by
only 10% of the CEOs as a major factor for work
satisfaction.
very optimistic
7%
optimistic
34%
rather
pessimistic
52%
very
pessimistic
7%
How optmistic are you for economic and business
growth in your sector during the next 12 months?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
technology
natural resources and energy
consumer products and services
professional service
health care & life sciences
logistics and transportation
industrial
financial services
government, education and non-profit
media/entertaiment
Business sectors in Poland with the best business perspective in the next 12 month

4. The lowest score, with only 6% of the respondents, was
for a low stress level which may be explained that today
it is regarded as a pre-requisite of such senior
managerial positions. However, the need to maintain a
healthy balance between work and private life was
identified as a major factor by over 40% of the
respondents and came in a high 6th place.
Expectation of innovation and leadership from CEOs
The CEO survey respondents were very clear on the key
competency requirements for top managers. Well over
50% of the CEOs indicated that innovation, or an ability
to think “out of box”, together with leadership and
charisma are the key competencies required of top
managers for business today.
Very high scores were also received for change
management abilities, as well as for ensuring the
effectiveness of the organisation and business
development skills.
The lowest scores from the list of 21 competencies or
skills, all scoring below 7%, were for technical skills, self-
confidence, mobility, time management, knowledge of
foreign languages and crisis management.
The Polish CEO survey respondents are aware that they
must also personally develop these skills and
competences. There is a good correlation between the
top manager key competencies and the individual CEO
personal development needs.
Of specific interest is that the Polish CEOs today feel
very comfortable with business ethics, values and
decision making skills. These are competencies ranked0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
job challenge
freedom to make decisions
possibility to achieve of results
quality of work environment (values)
opportunity for personal growth and
development
healthy balance between professional
and private life
good team work atmosphere
corporate culture
salary and benefits package
good relationships with superior
job security
low stress levels
Key factors to job satisfaction
0,0%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
Key skills of Top Managers
Essential competencies of Top Managers Personal development area

5. fairly high in importance for top managers. However,
they feel the personal need for more development with
self-confidence, time management, foreign languages
and with the acceptance of feedback. All these
competencies were ranked in the lower importance
range for top managers.
Personal development and work satisfaction are the
main reasons of job change
The key drivers for CEOs deciding to change companies
are also very clear. Over 50% of the respondents cited
career development and an increase in job satisfaction
as the primary reasons for potentially considering a
change of work.
There are also relatively high scores for the opportunity
to realise personal and family goals as well as an
increase in the compensation package.
Seeking a less stressful workplace and surprisingly a
fear of redundancy are indicated as not significant
factors for potentially changing jobs.
Work satisfaction
The Polish CEOs are very satisfied with their role. Over
85% of respondents are satisfied with 18% stating they
are very satisfied.
In comparison, only 12% are slightly unsatisfied with less
than 3% of CEOs stating they are unsatisfied.
4 ARE POLISH TOP MANAGERS OF TODAY
EURO-CLASS?
Openness to international work
International work collaboration is almost a pre-requisite
of doing business in Poland.
Almost all the CEOs, over 94%, have international work
exposure such as participation in international strategic
projects. Over 61% of the participants are involved in
international projects often or very frequently. Only just
under 6% of the participants have had no opportunity of
involvement in such international project work.
The CEOs are willing to participate in international
projects with almost 87% expressing eagerness to be
involved in such work. In fact, almost 30% are classified
as very keen.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
opportunity to develop career
increase of job satisfaction
realisation of personal and family
goals
higher salary and benefits package
I do not envisage any change
work “burn-out”
fear of unemployment
seeking a less stressful work
environment
Potential reasons for changing job
very satisfied
18%
satisfied
67%
rather
unsatisfied
12%
unsatisfied
3%
Satisfaction with current work situation
very often
21%
often
40%
seldom
33%
none
6%
Involvement in strategic international
projects

6. Only a very small minority of less than 2% do not like or
get the opportunity to be involved in international
projects, whilst slightly over 8% have some reservations.
English and German languages
Not surprisingly, English is the dominant language for
international meetings with over 92% of CEOs
participating in meetings in that language. However,
almost 10% of the CEOs participate in meetings in
German, which can be easily explained as Germany is
the largest investor in Poland. More surprising is that
almost 3% of meetings are held in French.
It is interesting to note that almost 5% of the Polish CEO
international meetings are held in Polish. This figure may
seem surprising and may be explained by Polish
companies recruiting or relocating Polish nationals to
international positions.
Initiators of change
It is very interesting to analyse the role that Polish CEOs
or top managers take in international meetings. Almost
55% of the respondents state that their role is significant
and is focused on change. Whilst over 27% state their
role is supportive.
It should be noted that today, Polish CEOs do not take
the leading role in international meetings. Less than 7%
of those surveyed have taken that role.
International work experience
The CEOs surveyed have extensive international work
experience. Almost 55% of the CEOs have worked
abroad. Over 33% of the respondents have worked
abroad for more than one year. This figure is surprisingly
high and confirms the international experience of top
Polish managers.
International promotion opportunities and mobility
Almost 65% of the CEOs surveyed state that there is a
possibility of them being promoted in their international
very willing
29%
willing
58%
rather
unwilling
8%
unwilling
3%
lack of
opportunities/
experience
2%
Willingness to participate international
meetings and projects
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
English
German
Polish
French
Language used in international
meetings
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
important / promoting change
supporting
leading
lack of experience
conciliatory
passive
Role in international meetings
No
45%
Yes, less then
1 year
22%
Yes, more
than 1 year
33%
International work experience

7. structure. In fact, almost 28% state the possibility as very
likely.
15% of respondents do not see an opportunity of
international promotion, whilst the opportunity does not
apply to 20% of the CEOs.
The international promotion data is very impressive and
confirms the quality of the Polish CEOs and top
managers. This is further confirmed by the answers to
the question on the assessment of the CEOs chance to
replace their current boss in international structures
outside of Poland.
Almost 54% of the Polish CEOs believe there is a
possibility of them replacing their current international
manager. 18% of the respondents rated their chance as
high.
The vast majority of the CEOs, over 90% of
respondents, are mobile to international relocation
should they be promoted. Over 38% were fully mobile,
52% have some reservations, whilst only 10% state that
they are not open international relocation.
CEO key management tools to achieve current
business objectives
There are many management processes and tools, and
the CEOs selected the key tools which they currently
use to achieve their business goals.
The key management tools currently in use are project
and results focused. For over 50% of the CEOs the key
management tool is Project Management, closely
followed by Management by Objectives (MBO). Over
45% of the CEOs are implementing change
management programmes.
Also, high on the list in 4
th
and 5
th
position respectively
are business intelligence and benchmarking.
Surprisingly high on the list, in 6
th
place is coaching and
mentoring, and ERP systems come in 7
th
place.
Despite the on-going economic instability and the
additional focus on costs and cash management, it is
interesting to note that radical financial optimisation
programmes, such as cost reduction and improvement in
working capital and cash flow, were only identified as
key programmes by under 32% of the CEOs and ranked
in only 10
th
place. This may be explained by the fact that
due to the economic situation these programmes have
been on-going for some time and are not regarded as
key strategic programmes, but rather as business as
usual management tools.
Large
28%
Limited
37%
None
15%
Not
applicable
20%
Possibility of international promotion in
current company
Large
18%
Limited
36%
None
19%
Not
applicable
27%
Possibility of taking current managers
international job outside of Poland
Yes
38%
Limited
52%
No
10%
Mobility to international relocation in
the case of promotion

8. Effectiveness of Polish to non-Polish top managers
The Polish CEOs attempted to classify the differences in
management behaviour between Polish and non-Polish
managers. Although this assessment is rather
subjective, the results are certainly interesting.
The key strengths of top Polish managers are regarded
as the delivery of results, crisis management,
restructurisation, organisational efficiency, productivity,
decisiveness and change management.
Non Polish managers strengths are regarded as
international work experience, sustainability and the
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Project management
MBO (Management by Objectives)
Change management
Business intelligence
Benchmarking
Coaching /mentoring
ERP
Performance Management Systems
Internal communications / intranet
Radical finance management (cash flow / costs)
CRM
SWOT analyses
Lean
six sigma
Key tools to achieve business strategic goals
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
International experience
Sustainability
Strategic planning
Open / democratic management style
Corporate social responsibility
Communications
Work organisation
Team work
Leadership
Motivation of employees
Change management
Decisiveness
Productivity
Organisational efficiency
Restructuring
Crisis management
Focus on goals
Polish Managers
Non-Polish
Managers

9. environment, strategic planning, an open and democratic
management style, corporate social responsibility and
communications.
No difference is perceived on leadership skills,
motivation, team work and organisation of work.
Top Manager remuneration packages
The standard remuneration package of the Polish CEO
and top managers consists of an annual salary, annual
bonus based on predefined goals, a company car and a
medical health plan.
Just over 52% of the top managers have a life insurance
plan as part of their remuneration package.
Company shares and other mechanisms of company
profit sharing are still not common in Poland, but are
held by approximately 25% of the top managers and are
clearly becoming more popular. Monthly or quarterly
bonuses are generally not applied to managers at this
level.
Polish CEOs and top managers are able to perform at
top class level and are being promoted to the
international structures of multinational companies,
however their compensation packages still lag behind
international benchmarks.
Just over 44% of the respondents believe their
remuneration package is comparable to international
colleagues. Only 3% state they have a better package,
however, almost 45% of the CEOs state their
remuneration package is lower than international
colleagues.
Polish Top Managers are Euro-Class
80% of the Polish CEOs and top managers believe they
are Euro class in managerial performance. A very high
proportion of 32% were very decisive on this matter.
Just under 20% of the managers believe that Polish
managers are not yet at this level. Interestingly, there
were virtually no managers who did not have a clear
opinion on this matter.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Basis remuneration
Company car
Medical health plan
Annual bonus
Bonus based upon MBO
Life insurance
Share options
Pension plan
Profit sharing scheme
Quarterly bonus
Monthly bonus
Elements of compensation package
Better
3%
Comparable
44%
Worse
45%
No opinion
8%
Competiveness of Polish remuneration
package to international peers
Definitely yes
32%
Yes
48%
Not yet
19%
no
1%
Do you personally feel a Euro–Class
manager?

10. 5 DEMOGRAPHICS OF RESPONDENTS
The CEOs and top managers who participated in this
survey work all for companies in Poland, are Polish
speaking and are key decision makers.
Although the respondents work in all sectors of business
in Poland the majority of over 51% are from the industry
and the consumer product and service sectors.
The legal entity of the companies is a mix of private,
stock listed as well as Polish state owned companies.
Whereas, the capital ownership is predominantly foreign,
with only just over 25% of Polish company respondents.
Not surprisingly, almost all the CEOs and senior
managers who responded are over 35 years of age, but
surprisingly over 50% of the respondents are in the age
group 35-45 thus are relatively young.
Owner /
significant
shareholder
10% Chairman /
CEO /
Managing
Director
31%
Board
member / or
other
59%
Position
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
industrial
consumer products and services
technology
natural resources and energy
health care & life sciences
logistics and transportation
professional service
financial services
media/entertaiment
government, education and non-
profit
Sector
Sector
Private
52%
State
9%
Stock listed
39%
Legal entity
Polish
26%
Foreign
63%
Mixed
12%
Capital
<35
2%
35-45
51%
46-55
36%
>55
11%
Age

11. Acknowledgements
The Warsaw office of Stanton Chase International would
like to thank all the respondents for their time and effort
in completing our CEO Survey 2012.
We are more than pleased that you found the survey
interesting and hope that you find this report equally
stimulating.
We are very proud that 80% of the respondent wish to
further follow up points raised in this survey. It will be our
great pleasure to meet you. In the meanwhile, please do
not hesitate to get in touch should you wish to discuss
any topic.
6 STANTON CHASE INTERNATIONAL
Established in 1990, Stanton Chase International is one
of the world’s leading global executive search
companies with 73 offices in 46 countries.
Stanton Chase International has a strong market
presence in the emerging markets. In Poland and in
Central Europe, it is one of the five leading companies in
its field.
Stanton Chase Warsaw has a successful track record of
over 19 years in the executive search business and in
delivering executive search services at the top, senior
and professional levels in various business sectors. We
offer Poland’s highest-qualified team of executive search
consultants and researchers, with 800 successfully
completed projects. Our hands-on approach and deep
understanding of our Client’s needs and culture,
combined with the superior quality of services routinely
translates into a high volume of repeat business.
We have a reputation as the most prominent executive
search team on the Polish market which is largely due to
the passion, enthusiasm and true love we have for our
job. We have a profound expertise of the Polish and
CEE markets which has allowed us to deliver a variety of
projects covering a wide geographical span within CEE.
All company partners have a clearly defined Practice
Group focus and extensive local and multinational
experience and expertise. They serve international
clients as well as strong local and national players.
Services:
Executive Search
Board Services
Executive Assessment Services
Management Appraisals
International Practice Group Specialisations:
Consumer Products and Services
Financial Services
Government, Education and Non-profit
Industrial
Life Sciences and Healthcare
Logistics and Transportation
Natural Resources and Energy
Professional Services
Technology
Yes
80%
No
20%
Interest in a future follow up meeting to
discuss this survey

12. This report has been designed and developed jointly by Beata Sokołowska-Pęk, Managing Partner and Jan Duniec,
Partner
Beata Sokołowska-Pęk, Managing Partner, Jan Duniec, Partner
“Together we create a unique team offering of added value services, innovation and
professional solutions to our business partners”
Jan joined Stanton Chase with a track
record of international work
experience in the UK, France and
Poland. He has 17 year experience of
plant and business management in
executive positions and 29 years of
involvement in industry.
Jan has dual Polish and British
nationalities and lived in the UK until
1991, and since then has been
predominantly based in Poland.
Industrial work experience includes
the sectors of telecoms, consumer
electronics, industrial processes,
contract manufacturing, the steel
industry and outsourced services. He
has actively led successful programs
of business development, key account
management, lean manufacturing,
change management, cost reduction
and business turnarounds.
Jan graduated from the University of
Manchester with a B.Sc. (Hon) in
Physics. He is fluent in Polish and
English.
The executive search consultant with
a track record of over 19 years.
Launching her executive search
career as a researcher in early 1994,
Beata was later promoted to
consultant before being appointed
Partner and Managing Director of the
firm in 2000.
Having actively participated in over
800 executive search projects
throughout her career, Beata is well
acquainted in the Industrial, Logistics,
Healthcare, Financial Services as well
as Consumer Products and Services.
She has successfully identified
candidates for board member, general
manager, manufacturing, sales,
marketing, finance, HR, IT,
purchasing, logistics and branch
manager positions.
Fluent in Polish, English and Russian,
Beata graduated from the University
of Warsaw with a Masters of Arts in
Linguistics. She has also studied in
the United States at Northwestern
University in Chicago, Illinois, and in
the UK at Central London Polytechnic.