According to the Harvard Business Review, of the 2,200 companies listed in the S&P 1200 and the Russell 1000 stock indexes, fewer than 100 were led by two chief executives at the same time from 1996 to 2020. During periods of dual leadership, nearly 60% of these companies generated an average annual shareholder return of 9.5%. This is significantly higher than the average of 6.9% for each company’s relevant investment index. Dual-leader tenure also lasted about as long as a single-CEO at the helm — around five years on average.

In our latest MDM Podcast, Daniel Harms (Optimas Solutions CEO, Americas) and Mike Tuffy (Optimas Solutions CEO, International) stopped by to discuss the company’s movement to a dual-CEO leadership model, which the company announced via a press release and our podcast. Together, they navigate the successes and challenges of running autonomous, yet connected, business units as a leading global manufacturer and distributor of fastener products.

Foundational Momentum 

Since 2021, Tuffy and Harms have worked to elevate their business unit performance and collaborated closely to ensure global alignment. This has enabled Optimas to be more agile and better serve customers and suppliers.

“The past year has been a great journey for Optimas,” Harms and Tuffy said in a company news release. “We both share a deep belief in this dual-CEO structure — and the positive momentum Optimas has gained in the last year is real. Feedback from customers and prospects and teammates around the globe is positive and tells us we’re on the right track.”

Listen to both candidly discuss their new roles, current events and expansion plans in our podcast via the audio player above, and check out our full library of MDM Podcasts at our webpage for them here. And learn more information about Harms and Tuffy’s co-CEO elevation at Optimas’ press release here.