Does CEO profile affect firm financial performance? A study of French firms

Research Question: How do CEO characteristics affect firm financial performance, based on ROA, Tobin's Q, and MTB? Motivation: In fact, it is important to study the different characteristics of the CEO, which can affect firm financial performance in the French context.Idea: The present work aimed to examine the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics on firm financial performance examined by ROA, Tobin's Q and MTB.Data: Our sample consists of French firms listed on the CAC All Shares index from 2014 to 2023.We excluded financial companies due to their atypical financial reporting practices, as well as firms with incomplete annual reports or insufficient CEO data.Using panel regression analysis, we examined a final sample of 151 firms over a ten-year period.Tools: Our regressions will be estimated by the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method.Findings: Using firm financial performance as the dependent variable, our model results indicate a positive and significant relationship between CEO tenure, CEO compensation, CEO nationality, and CEO board membership and firm financial performance.However, no significant relationship was found between CEO gender, CEO turnover, and firm financial performance.Contribution: There is a notable gap in research on the influence of CEO nationality on firm financial performance.This study aims to provide empirical insights into how CEO characteristics affect firm performance and contribute to improved financial outcomes.