In this episode of Your Path to CEO, Mike Dickson from [axr] Executive Search speaks with Caroline Waite, Group CEO of Stuart Alexander and recently appointed board member of the AFGC, about a career built on breadth, honest ambition and people-first leadership.

Caroline knew she wanted to lead a business from an early age, shaped in no small part by school holidays spent on the factory floor of her father's plastics manufacturing company. From Bayer, time living and working in Hong Kong, almost a decade at Frucor Suntory and senior commercial roles across two further businesses, she had a clear destination in mind and told every organisation she joined exactly where she wanted to go. She never waited until she felt ready. In her view, by the time you are, the move is already overdue.

Key themes from the conversation include:

- Why naming your ambition early makes you easier to back and harder to overlook
- The value of career breadth over functional depth on the path to enterprise leadership
- What actually changes when you step into the CEO role
- The governance responsibilities nobody prepares you for
- Why peer networks, coaching and industry boards matter more at this level than you'd expect
- Why the CEO seat is neither an ego play nor a salary decision

An honest conversation on what the weight and privilege of the top seat really feel like once you're there. For Caroline, every time the responsibility lands heavy, gratitude is never far behind.