Jose J. Ruiz

Jose J. Ruiz At Alder Koten we help clients acquire, develop and transition leadership talent through a combinati
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A close friend sent me this picture today.It brought back a lot of memories.I wrote this book in 2007 to help an executi...
05/28/2026

A close friend sent me this picture today.

It brought back a lot of memories.

I wrote this book in 2007 to help an executive search client navigate the hiring process in Mexico. It was the first book I ever wrote.

Reid Hoffman once said, “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

That feels very true.

Every time I have written a book since, I have looked back at the previous ones and noticed the imperfections. The awkward phrasing. The gaps. The things I would now explain differently.

But that first book helped me lose the fear of putting something out into the world.

More importantly, it made me realize that I could write a book.

Or eight.

Progress rarely begins with perfection. Perfection is the enemy of getting good.

Should the board drive culture or leave that to the CEO?I’ve heard the standard argument for years: culture is the CEO’s...
05/26/2026

Should the board drive culture or leave that to the CEO?

I’ve heard the standard argument for years: culture is the CEO’s job, full stop. I think that’s incomplete.

Yes, the CEO and the executive team shape culture every day through priorities, talent decisions, operating cadence, and consequences. They own the lived experience.

But culture is a long-term endeavor. It is part of Institutional Capability: what an institution can preserve across leadership cycles. That makes culture a board priority alongside values, not as an operational takeover, but as stewardship.

In practice, the board’s role is to define and protect the non-negotiables: purpose, values, and the behavioral standards the institution will not trade away when pressure rises. The CEO’s role is to translate those commitments into mechanisms that people can feel: hiring, promotion, decision rights, incentives, and accountability.

We walk that talk.

At IMD International Search Group, our board has deliberately transformed the group’s culture, and I’m convinced it will endure beyond our tenure. We have worked hard to make it sustainable through director succession planning, so the culture does not depend on a specific set of individuals. We have also assumed responsibility for our values as an institution, treating them as a governance duty, not a poster on a wall.

We have a clear understanding when we look at director succession slates: Valies and culture first.

Simona Cremascoli Jennifer Silvester Ben Tucker Arvind Pandit Eva Nielsen Terhi Heikkinen Estelle Carrère IMD International Search Group

It’s crazy how every year we have a long discussion on AI, and every year it feels decades away from the last one. The i...
05/24/2026

It’s crazy how every year we have a long discussion on AI, and every year it feels decades away from the last one. The implementation of AI is moving at a dizzying pace.

Wrapped up our global meeting today after three energizing days of interaction, collaboration, learning, and fun in Hels...
05/23/2026

Wrapped up our global meeting today after three energizing days of interaction, collaboration, learning, and fun in Helsinki.

We explored multiple AI approaches and applications, board and governance evaluations, and cross-border talent mapping. We also gained valuable insights from outstanding speakers on the current state of the world and the interconnected economies shaping our work.

We missed many of our colleagues who could not make it this time, and we look forward to having them with us at the next gathering.

Grateful for the conversations, perspectives, and shared commitment that made this meeting so meaningful.

AI is becoming more expansive, more powerful, and more complex.During the second day of our global meeting in Helsinki, ...
05/23/2026

AI is becoming more expansive, more powerful, and more complex.

During the second day of our global meeting in Helsinki, we had extensive conversations about what this means for leaders, teams, and organizations.

The conversation is no longer just about what AI can do. It is about how we think, plan, and experiment with it responsibly.

This moment requires more reflexión, not less. More discipline, not more noise. More thoughtful experimentation, not blind adoption.

The organizations and leaders who learn fastest will not be the ones chasing every tool. They will be the ones building clarity, testing with purpose, and turning complexity into capability.

FutureOfWork Helsinki

En evening of awards, singing, celebration and announcements. A great way to close the final full day of our global meet...
05/23/2026

En evening of awards, singing, celebration and announcements. A great way to close the final full day of our global meeting in Helsinki.

Kicking off the IMD International Search Group annual meeting in Helsinki with colleagues from around the world.What sta...
05/21/2026

Kicking off the IMD International Search Group annual meeting in Helsinki with colleagues from around the world.

What stands out is the strength and diversity of this group: established executive search consultants with deep local roots, global reach, and growing expertise across board work, C-level search, leadership advisory, management assessment, governance, and trending sectors such as AI, aerospace, defense, infrastructure, and energy.

More than a meeting, it is a reminder of what makes IMD valuable: trusted relationships, shared expertise, entrepreneurial firms, and a common commitment to helping organizations make better leadership decisions.

Grateful to reconnect, exchange perspectives, and continue building what comes next.

By
05/19/2026

By

TB to 2018 and our Alder Koten Forum. We were already discussing the disruptions of AI in the form of machine learning a...
05/17/2026

TB to 2018 and our Alder Koten Forum. We were already discussing the disruptions of AI in the form of machine learning algorithms.

You can’t find a great leader if you don’t know what you are looking for.Most organizations start executive search with ...
05/14/2026

You can’t find a great leader if you don’t know what you are looking for.

Most organizations start executive search with a job description. Tasks. Responsibilities. Requirements. It reads well, but it rarely captures the real work.

Senior roles are judgment roles. The outcomes depend on decisions made under uncertainty, with imperfect information, competing stakeholders, and consequences that travel. When a search process ignores that reality, the resume can be flawless and the hire can still miss.

That is why we help clients define the job profile beyond the typical job description. We start with context.

In a client conversation, the simplest way to name it was the leader’s “space of autonomy”: the practical border between governance and the decisions the role holder must make under their own judgment. When that space is undefined, the search becomes a guessing game. A leader used to wide autonomy feels constrained and slows down. A leader used to tight guardrails gets exposed by ambiguity and over-escalates. In both cases, the fit looks right on paper and breaks in practice. 

Our work is to make the role decision-ready before we ever speak to candidates. We clarify decision rights, escalation points, constraints, and the real conditions the leader will face. Then we assess for the judgment required to operate in that context, not just the ability to execute a list of tasks.

If you are hiring a CEO or critical executive role and want a search grounded in context, decision rights, and judgment, let’s talk.

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