Stephen A. Miles is an author and executive consultant, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Miles Group, as well as a director at CDK Global (NASDAQ: CDK; formerly
ADP Dealer Services), where he serves as a member of the Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees.
Previously, he was a Vice Chairman at
Heidrick & Struggles, where he ran Leadership Advisory Services and was a member of both the Global CEO and Board Practice, and the firm's management committee.
Background
Miles was born in Nairobi, and spent his childhood in South Africa, Iraq, Argentina and Canada.
In 1991, Miles received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from
Queen's University in
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...
and a Masters in Psychology from the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
in 1994.
After working as a social worker counseling maximum-security inmates at the
Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario, Miles turned his focus to management and leadership, receiving his master's degree in Business Administration from Queen's University in 1999.
After graduating, Miles worked for a year as a consultant, before arriving at Heidrick & Struggles in 1999.
After arriving at Heidrick & Struggles as a research analyst, Miles moved on to become a vice chairman and run Leadership Advisory Services within the Leadership Consulting Practice, overseeing the firm's worldwide executive assessment/succession planning activities.
Career
Miles' research centers on CEO succession and leadership, using the
360 degree evaluation process. In 2010, Bloomberg Businessweek profiled Miles as a “rising star of CEO consulting” and CEO whisperer, highlighting his work in the area of CEO and executive coaching.
Miles was mentioned in a 2018 Bloomberg Businessweek article as the executive coach of
Snap, Inc. CEO
Evan Spiegel, and is credited with helping Snap move from a "hub-and spoke" to a "distributed" model of leadership.
Miles was featured in Fast Company's 2020 article on the Most Innovative Company of the year,
Snap, Inc., in which he recounts his work with CEO
Evan Spiegel.
His 2006 book, ''Riding Shotgun: The Role of the Chief Operating Officer'', was featured in the
Harvard Business Review
''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...
as an in-depth study of the COO's role within a corporation and how the role can successfully intersect with that of the CEO.
In 2010, Miles and Stanford University Graduate School of Business Professor
David F. Larcker collaborated on a
Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...
case study on CEO succession planning, entitled “Multimillionaire Matchmaker.” In the study, they found that 51% of companies could not name a CEO successor today, if needed. Miles and Larcker continued this thread of research in 2011 to examine whether active CEOs make the best board members, finding evidence to suggest that while active CEOs bring prestige to a board, they are often not the best choice because they are commonly too busy with their own businesses to be a fully effective director.
He is a regular contributor to Forbes and the Management Blog at
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
,
and in 2019, Stephen launched the “C-Suite Intelligence” podcast.
Bibliography
* Miles, Stephen A.; Larcker, David; & Tayan, Brian. (2021).
Protests from Within: Engaging with Employee Activists. ''Stanford Closer Look Series''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; Larcker, David; Tayan, Brian; & Wright-Violichm Kim. (2018).
The Double-Edged Sword of CEO Activism. ''Stanford Closer Look Series''.
* Bennett, Nathan; & Miles, Stephen A. (2017).
Re-invent Yourself as COO. ''European Business Review''.
* Griffin, Taylor; Larcker, David; Miles, Stephen A.; & Tayan, Brian. (2017).
Board Evaluations and Boardroom Dynamics. ''Stanford Corporate Governance Research Initiative''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; Larcker, David; Griffin, Taylor; & Tayan, Brian. (2017).
How Boards Should Evaluate Their Own Performance. ''Harvard Business Review''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; Larcker, David; Griffin, Taylor; & Tayan, Brian. (2016).
2016 , Board Directors Evaluation and Effectiveness. ''Stanford Corporate Governance Research Initiative''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; Larcker, David; & Tayan, Brian. (2016).
Succession “losers”: What happens to executives passed over for the CEO job?. ''Stanford Closer Look Series''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; Larcker, David; & Tayan, Brian. (2014).
The Handpicked CEO Successor. ''Stanford Closer Look Series''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; & Sager Ira (2013).
Top Athletes Use Coaches. Why Don’t CEOs?. ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.
* Miles, Stephen A. (2013).
Why Are Boards Coming Up Short In Performance?. ''Corporate Board Member''.
* Bennett, Nathan; & Miles, Stephen A. (2012).
Is Your Board About to Pick the Wrong CEO?. ''Corporate Board Member''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; & Larcker, David (2011).
. ''Stanford Graduate School of Business''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; & Bennett, Nathan (July 10, 2011).
Are You Ready to Replace Your CEO?. ''Bank Director''.
* Bennett, Nathan; & Miles, Stephen A. (2010). ''Your Career Game: How Game Theory Can Help You Achieve Your Professional Goals.'' Palo Alto: Stanford Business Books. .
* Bennett, Nathan; & Miles, Stephen A. (March 24, 2010).
. ''Forbes''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; & Bennett, Nathan (November 18, 2010).
. ''Forbes''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; & Bennett, Nathan (November 17, 2010).
. ''Forbes''.
* Miles, Stephen A. (July 31, 2009).
. ''Forbes''
* Miles, Stephen A. (July 30, 2009).
. ''Forbes''.
* Miles, Stephen A.; & Bennett, Nathan (March 31, 2009).
. ''Businessweek''.
* Bennett, Nathan; & Miles, Stephen A. (January 29, 2008).
. ''Forbes''.
*
* Bennett, Nathan; & Miles, Stephen A. (2006). ''Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO''. Palo Alto: Stanford Business Books. .
*
References
External links
''Stanford Graduate School of Business''''Inside the secret school for ASX CEOs''*
CEO Priorities for Navigating a Globally Ambiguous 2024'
''Your Career Game'' website''Riding Shotgun'' website''The Miles Group'' website''Top 9 Issues Facing CEOs in 2023''''How to Thrive Through the Impending Global Recession and Systemic Inflation''''How High Friction Leaders Endanger the New Work Place''''Pull Up a Seat! The Office Slowly Returns''''The End of an Era: Employers Take Control''''Swipe In Or Fall Behind: Key Leaders Continue Endorsing the Office''''The Broken Feedback Loop: No Room to Give or Take''''The Dark Side Of Company Culture: Stasis And Conformity''''High Risk, High Reward: The Paradox of High Potential Leaders''
''Micro Leadership: The Paradox of Managing Others & Driving Results''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Stephen A.
Living people
21st-century American businesspeople
American business writers
American male non-fiction writers
1967 births