These co-CEOs swear by splitting the job: 'The demands on a modern CEO are close to unsustainable'

two men in dark suits standing in front of a window (Credit: Courtesy of AlixPartners)

Active listening. Shared responsibilities. Pre-planned forgiveness. If the tenets of AlixPartners’ co-CEO relationship sound a lot like those of a married couple who have gone through a lot of therapy, well, you’re not far off.

AlixPartners co-CEOs David Garfield and Rob Hornby were promoted to lead the 3,500-person global consulting firm in February, but previously had worked together for some 14 years, which both say was vital. “Having prior work experience together makes a huge difference,” AlixPartners co-CEO David Garfield told Fortune about sharing the top job with Rob Hornby. “I genuinely believe that our decisions are better as a result of collaborating on them than they would be if we were making them independently.”