The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that for a growing number of corporate leaders, chief executive officer is not the last rung on the management ladder any more. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that instead, more CEOs announce they are retiring or "stepping down" to become executive chairs, taking on ill-defined roles that permit them to continue overseeing strategy, and sometimes day-to-day operations, even though a new CEO has been appointed. The trend is playing out at institutions of all stripes, from publicly traded companies, to law firms, to private corporations and it is altering succession plans at every size of enterprise imaginable. How the position "executive chair" became so popular, so quickly, is still a bit of a mystery, even to those who study it. In some cases, the title is given to someone who retains heavy input -- perhaps a founder who still wants operational control. At technology consultancy CGI, founder Serge Godin stepped down as CEO in 2006, yet remains executive chair and was paid $13.3-million in total compensation in 2023, only slightly less than the $14.4-million CEO George Schindler made. (Mr. Godin controls the company through his multiple voting Class B shares.)