Deloitte Private Survey Finds Succession Plans Widespread but Rarely Comprehensive

Succession remains one of the most discussed and least resolved questions in family enterprise. A new Deloitte Private study, the global Family Business Insights Series report "Family Business Succession Planning and the Next Generation, 2026," examines where preparedness holds and where it breaks down. The survey interviewed 1,587 family businesses across 35 countries, all with revenues of at least $100 million, and was supplemented by in-depth interviews with 30 senior executives at those companies.

A gap between having a plan and having a complete one

More than 80% of family businesses report having some form of succession plan. Only around half, however, consider that plan comprehensive. For Yali Yin, Global Deloitte Private Leader, the shortfall is rarely a single missing document. It is a failure of integration. The missing pieces, Yin said, are often the connections between leadership development, governance, ownership structures, contingency planning and family alignment around shared values and long-term objectives. The strongest businesses, in that reading, treat succession as an ongoing strategic process rather than a document to complete before retirement.

Reluctance at the top is more than doubt

Research consistently ranks current leadership's reluctance to relinquish control among the top obstacles to succession. Dr. Rebecca Gooch, Deloitte Private Global Head of Insights, frames the reasons as more complicated than simple doubt in the next generation. Some concerns do stem from questions about readiness, but succession is also deeply personal for leaders who have spent decades building the business. The most successful transitions, Gooch said, build confidence gradually through structured development, giving successors meaningful responsibility long before the formal handover.

Confidence in next-generation leadership trails confidence in current leadership in every region surveyed.

That gap may reflect a realistic read on preparedness or an older generation slow to recognize readiness. Gooch described it as not an either-or question. Leadership capability takes time to develop, she noted, and confidence grows when successors are given accountable roles, exposure to strategic decision-making and experience beyond the family business.

The rise of the non-family CEO

One of the survey's more striking data points is the projected near-doubling of non-family CEOs following succession, from 13% to 26%. Gooch read the shift as a sign of professionalization rather than a verdict on family successors, and said the two dynamics can coexist. As organizations become larger, more international and more complex, many families recognize that executive leadership and family stewardship need not be the same thing. Families can retain long-term ownership, values and strategic direction while appointing experienced external executives to run the business operationally. That flexibility, she said, is increasingly viewed as a strength rather than a compromise.

Outside experience, on purpose

Preparing the next generation increasingly means sending them elsewhere first. Nearly 70% of family businesses now require next-gen members to gain outside work experience before joining the firm. Yin's criterion for what makes that experience useful is substance over duration. The most valuable roles provide real responsibility, exposure to different organizational cultures and the opportunity to develop independently. She added that family businesses should remain flexible in recognizing relevant experience so that external work strengthens the path into the business rather than becoming a barrier.

Culture, governance and independent directors

Preserving culture through transition has traditionally relied on storytelling and mentorship. Gooch said the businesses managing it best are embedding culture into governance itself, through family councils, family boards, documented values, formal development programs, clear expectations for joining the business and regular family discussions about long-term purpose. On the question of when to bring outside directors in, Yin pointed to complexity rather than a size threshold. Independent directors become most valuable as a business expands, diversifies or prepares for succession, and while some families worry outside voices will dilute their influence, independent perspectives often strengthen both the business and the family.

With 40% of family businesses expecting a CEO change within the next decade, the window is narrower than many families assume. Yin's proposed structural change was to make succession an ongoing governance priority: a formal process with clear milestones, regular review of successor readiness and open conversations across generations.