Is it just me or are CEOs getting younger? This is not my question, dear reader. Three of my coachees wondered out loud. Gerard, Niek and Tom were the ones. Don't look among my contacts, because I'll give them a different name.

But for now: Gerard, Niek and Tom.

These three top people all work for a family business, but really. Gerard, Niek and Tom are between 48 and 57. All three asked me roughly the same question. Are CEOs getting younger?

The answer is: yes. Indeed. CEOs are getting younger, and that is not because it seems that way. You might think that this observation is because Gerard, Niek and Tom are slowly getting older. Just like you and me.

The vast majority of the CEOs in my active file are still around 50, 55 years old. Like Gerard, Niek and Tom.

They are male. White. Married or have been married. They often have a commercial or economic education. They follow, or followed, the beaten track. Many of them are now stuck. That is what my other blogs and vlogs are about.

In the pre-coach era, when I myself was already starting to become something like a business mentor, the director was still around 60. Also white, also male. Also highly educated, often very self-made. The generation of reconstruction. Started with nothing and had the times on their side.

I regularly helped this group with a good exit scenario. With their heads held high and leaving through the front door. Off to the golf club.

The group of Gerard, Niek and Tom has its own issues again.

But now. There is a crop of young CEOs active in the business world right now. Young as in: around thirty. That's just young. Besides being young, they also operate undisputedly differently.

Bravo.

It is always the new generation that brings about change. Look at your own career. You did it differently too. Today's starters are white and black, MBO, HBO, WO and everything in between. They have self-confidence and courage. They think in innovations. Their leadership style is completely informal. They are direct in their communication. And they are honest, in a brutal way.

And they are always connected. Digitalization is their oxygen.

And they are coming.

It won't be long before Gerard, Niek and Tom have to deal with these 'young guys'. At first a little. Then more and more.

I tell you, don't resist. Let them in and learn from them. They know more than you and I.

And you can transfer your knowledge to them. Because you know more than they do.

It's time for a new generation. Give them space.

Hans Ruinemans, boardroom monk