Recruiting CEOs to startup companies.

• Author: Citrin, James M.

Boards of directors will want to look for high scores in these 10 categories of professional experience and personal characteristics.

Federal Express. Microsoft. MCI. These powerhouses of the American and global economies were not too long ago fledgling startups. Today, early-stage companies are catalyzing if not driving economic and industry growth. In 1996, over 170,000 new businesses were formed, according to Dun & Bradstreet. Many of these new companies have sought to attract new leaders to help them grow.

It seems that almost every month another well-known corporate executive trades in the security and prestige of working for a household-name corporation in exchange for the potential of huge rewards if their startup company hits the big time. Alex Mandl, James Barksdale, Jim Manzi, and Jeffrey Katzenberg are some of the highest-profile examples. But the list goes on to include Thomas Jermoluk, who moved from president of Silicon Graphics to take the helm of Internet access company @Home Network; Olaf Olafsson, who traded in a top post at Sony for a variety of startup roles; and Webster Golinkin, who had been a top executive at Reeves Entertainment before co-founding America's Health Network.

What should startup boards of directors and venture capitalists look for when searching for a new CEO? Although there are differences in each situation, there are certain criteria that should be used when recruiting a new leader. A strong candidate will usually have high scores in 10 categories of professional experience and personal characteristics.

Ideal Professional Experience

1. Track Record of Performance. The most important thing that a candidate should demonstrate is a track record of performance, especially in a comparable business-building situation. However, since many of the entrepreneurial businesses break new ground and cannot therefore be easily compared to others, related activities often need to be used as a proxy. For example, Jermoluk successfully led the growth of Silicon Graphics based on expanding the market for high-end media servers, media processors, and entertainment software. @Home, which just went public in a highly successful IPO, is counting on his technology experience and proven track record understanding the things needed to reach each stage of growth to achieve the company's objective of becoming the preeminent Internet service company in the world. In traditional corporate searches, by contrast, boards often try to...