Steve Murphy, former CEO of Epicor, led the global enterprise software provider through nine years of cloud and AI transformation.
Want to ensure a successful CEO transition? Start planning years in advance.
In the summer of 2026, I announced my intention to step down after nine years at the helm of Epicor. Every CEO eventually leaves the job. Some remain longer than others, and the circumstances vary. However, anyone who occupies the CEO’s seat should understand that succession planning is part of running a company well.
If you’re in the role long enough, you start thinking about the durability of the company and its ability to handle whatever shocks may come, including the CEO deciding to retire or do something else. That’s why succession planning needs to begin well before a departure is imminent.
Time is on your side if you think ahead. No matter what you do during the handoff, it won’t be enough unless you’ve taken the time beforehand to agree on the timing, set expectations and determine the proof points that show someone’s ready for the job.
I started getting serious about succession planning with my team four or five years ago. Well-run companies make it part of every annual operating meeting with the board. Asking about your plan doesn’t mean the board is out to get you. It’s simply good corporate hygiene.
I applied the same expectation to all of my direct reports. Each was responsible for having a succession plan in case they left, retired or even hit the lottery.
Laying The Groundwork
When I became CEO in 2017, Epicor needed stability more than anything. The company had been through so many management changes that employees were experiencing a kind of whiplash, with each new person wanting something different. We needed to stick to a long-term plan that didn’t change from quarter to quarter or from year to year, so I committed Epicor to long-term investment in its products and people.
Still, it takes time for employees to believe that commitment. I think it took a couple of years for our people to conclude that Epicor was someplace they might want to work and where they could have a rewarding career.
The technology required patience, too. Re-architecting our flagship product to run natively in the cloud took three years. I had thought it might take a year and a half, but we stuck to the plan.
The systems used to run the company also had to scale. Epicor has about 5,000 employees and does business in 140 countries. I once thought we would eventually get those systems to a steady state and wouldn’t have to expend as much effort on them. I’ve changed my mind. They require constant attention, especially as new technologies such as AI change how we work.
Systems can only take you so far, though. A durable company needs tenured, experienced people who understand its customers, products and culture. One of the biggest influences on me early in my career was Procter & Gamble, a well-run company that promoted from within. Employees need to see evidence that good work can lead to a real career path. If all of the top jobs go to outsiders, they have every reason to question that promise.
Our incoming CEO, Vaibhav Vohra, has been at Epicor for five years, knows our culture and has the respect of his co-workers and the board. When the incoming CEO is someone who’s already at the company, you remove much of the uncertainty about cultural fit. You also know what you’re getting.
Learning To Step Back
A CEO will always make some of the biggest decisions, but a strong team can use consensus to make most major decisions so that fewer of them need to be kicked up to the CEO.
Over nine years, I learned how to micromanage less. Sometimes, you may feel as if you have all the answers. You may even have them. However, getting in there and doing somebody else’s job is dangerous and disempowering. You can take a confident person and ruin that confidence.
I also learned that it’s hard for a CEO to get the straight story. People want to impress you, give you good news or please you, but you have to create an environment where people feel safe telling you the bad news. For me, that meant learning to manage my body language. I don’t play poker because my face is too easy to read. I can handle bad news, but the look on my face might suggest otherwise. I’ve had to train myself to create a space where people feel comfortable telling me what isn’t working.
Letting The Next CEO Lead
The hardest part of the handoff may be the willingness to let go. Our new CEO may make changes in product strategy or other areas that I didn’t consider or wouldn’t have made. Some of these decisions may prove better than mine. Some may be changes I should have made myself.
When I move to the board, I’ll need to suspend judgment and give him room to do the job. If a board selects a CEO and then continually second-guesses that person, decisions won’t happen quickly enough, and the company will suffer.
A departing CEO can make the transition harder by thinking it’s about them—that they are somehow special or should draw attention to themselves. What matters is the success of the company, which in Epicor’s case is made up of 5,000 people.
Things can change quickly. The CEO’s job is to make sure the company is ready when they do.
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