ACEVO and the Centre for Charity Effectiveness (Bayes Business School) are proud to announce the publication of the third edition of The Chief Executive’s First 100 Days, supported by Rosterfy. An essential, updated guide to support charity CEOs navigating the critical early phase of their leadership journey.
The role of a civil society chief executive has never been more complex – or more consequential. Over the past decade, economic instability, technological acceleration, global crises, political upheaval, social movements, and a reckoning with historic inequalities have reshaped expectations of civil society leaders. Today’s CEOs are called to lead with clarity and courage, balancing strategic foresight with operational agility, purpose with measurable impact, and lived values with a sustained commitment to social justice.
Building on the first and second editions authored by Fiona Ash, this new edition brings fresh insights from extensive research including interviews and focus groups with newly appointed CEOs and chairs from a diverse range of charities. Co-authored by Dr Helen Timbrell, a specialist in organisational development and leadership coaching, alongside Fiona Ash the guide offers a practical roadmap tailored for today’s uniquely challenging charity landscape.
ACEVO’s mission is to be a powerful catalyst for inspired, inclusive, and impactful civil society leadership. This updated guide reflects that commitment by equipping new chief executives not only with tools to manage complexity but also to define what effective, inclusive, and future-facing leadership truly looks like.
Far from a one-size-fits-all manual, the guide provides a structured framework enriched with candid reflections and emerging best practices. It encourages thoughtful provocation – helping CEOs to reflect on their mindset, understand organisational systems, and approach their early days with self-awareness, strategic intent, and impact.
The guide is structured in three main parts: a roadmap for the first 100 days in post, a toolkit of resources for understanding your organisation and context, and a signposting section to further sources of support.
The roadmap itself is divided into three distinct stages: the countdown (before formally taking up the role), the encounter (the first 100 days in post), and the adjustment (the months that follow). While the guide focuses in depth on the countdown and encounter stages, it also offers reflections on sustaining impact into the adjustment period.
The first 100 days are crucial for setting the tone and direction of a CEO’s tenure. This guide supports leaders in building trust, consolidating insight, and moving from reflection to action with confidence, care, and clarity.
As one newly appointed CEO shared, “As well as the challenges of taking on the chief executive job, I feel immensely lucky and privileged to be in this position and it’s actually a real joy.”
This edition is a vital resource for anyone stepping into or transitioning between leadership roles in the charity sector, helping to ensure new chief executives can lead with purpose, resilience, and impact from day one.
Jane Ide, ACEVO CEO, said: “There is nothing quite like the experience of stepping into a new CEO role, whether it is your first appointment at that level or you’ve been around the block a few times before.
This updated and refreshed publication is more than just a description of what to expect. By drawing on the real world, contemporary experience of our sectors’ leaders, it is a guidebook, a route map and a source of great support and reassurance.
Our intention is to help every CEO taking on a new role to make it the most successful, sustainable, impactful and enjoyable experience it can be – so that they can lead with the greatest possible impact for the people, the cause and the organisation they serve.”
Alex Skailes, director of the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, Bayes Business School, said: “Moving into a CEO role can be a source of great personal excitement at the opportunities that lie ahead.
“However, from our work with charity leaders we recognise just how difficult bedding-in periods can be. Stepping into leadership for the first time can be daunting, but it is also important to acknowledge the steep learning curve that even experienced leaders embark on as they take new roles in a different organisation.
“At the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, we aim to equip leaders of all experience with strategic tools, governing insights, and most of all the confidence and headspace to drive change. We are therefore delighted to partner once again with ACEVO to deliver this important toolkit, that will coach CEOs to hit the ground running in an ever-demanding environment.”