The Flourishing Culture Podcast

Welcome to The Flourishing Culture Podcast! In the boardroom of any successful organization, the question is always asked of the CEO, “What happens if you get hit by a bus?” Certainly, CEO leadership is the board’s most important responsibility and the top of mind for any chair. The follow-up question is then, “What is the succession plan?”

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Today, we have the rare opportunity to talk with a leader who was figuratively “hit by a bus” with the diagnosis of bone marrow cancer that required immediate, aggressive care. Alec Hill was 62 at the time and at the top of his game, having served 14 years as president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Within a few weeks after the diagnosis, he stepped down from his leadership role to prepare for a bone marrow transplant.  The probabilities of survival were against him.

Now, we can celebrate God’s grace and mercy as the doctors declare Alec cancer free!

Alec’s tenure as president was marked by one of the most significant periods of growth since InterVarsity’s founding almost 75 years ago.  The InterVarsity ministry has grown to 985 chapters on 649 campuses involving more than 41,000 actively involved students and faculty.  These chapters are served by over 1,100 field staff and numerous volunteers, and annual revenues are now over $100 million.

Tune into today’s conversation to hear about Alec’s miraculous battle with cancer, and how InterVarsity’s succession planning payed off.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• Succession planning: Alec’s Plan A and God’s Plan B


• Identifying who will step in if needed, well before crisis hits


• Hiring a transition consultant as Boomer senior leaders transition out


• The importance of conducting a national CEO search, even if the next leader may be an internal hire


• InterVarsity’s Prospective Senior Leaders development program to invest in future leaders and create a pool of qualified people to select from when positions open

“ Someday, you will hand off the leadership baton, so don’t confuse your identity with your role. —ALEC HILL

Read the Transcript

Download a complete, word-for-word transcript of the episode here.

Explore Additional Resources

• Learn more about InterVarsity Christian Fellowship: intervarsity.org


• Find InterVarsity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram


• Learn more in last week’s blog post: Facing Cancer: Alec Hill’s Honest Journey


• Alec mentions the book, The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament, by Kenneth Bailey

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The post Encore Episode: Succession Planning // Alec Hill, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship appeared first on BCWI's Flourishing Culture Blog.