Resources Connection CEO Transition

Resources Connection, Inc. is undergoing a transition in its senior management as part of a broader strategic transformation. On October 30, 2025, RGP announced a change in executive leadership and appointed Roger Carlile, a member of the board of directors since June 2024 and founder and CEO of Ankura Consulting Group, as president and CEO effective November 3, 2025. Kate Duchene, the previous chief executive officer, will not renew her employment contract and will become an executive advisor through January 3, 2026, with a consulting role through December 31, 2028. Carlile’s appointment represents a deepening of the growth of financial advisory services (specialized financial leadership and guidance services for treasury, planning, and strategic finance) and digital transformation.

The market has reacted with an 8.1% rise in RGP shares following the news!

This change is quite significant for RGP, whose goal is to improve its services and competitive positioning in an already highly saturated consulting sector.

I would say that the leadership change matters because it aligns leadership experience with the firm’s growth priorities. Carlile brings a track record from Ankura where he led for five years as CEO and chaired the board for six years. He also has a background across major firms, FTI, KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte, so he arrives with a portfolio built on restructuring, complex problem solving, and cross-functional advisory capabilities.

That matters because CFO Advisory and Digital Transformation are highly data-driven, client-relationship heavy service lines. The company has positioned these areas as core to its growth strategy, and having a CEO with hands-on operating experience in a multi-disciplinary consulting landscape helps translate strategy into execution.

From a governance perspective, Duchene’s departure is clean but not abrupt. Her employment agreement isn’t renewed; she transitions to Executive Advisor through January 2026, and Duchene will continue as a consultant to December 2028. This creates a controlled handover window and preserves continuity for clients and key accounts during a leadership transition. It also signals a measured approach to cost and resource alignment as the company shifts its leadership toolkit toward the Carlile era.

Financial reaction is notable but nuanced. The 8.1% stock gain indicates investor confidence in the new leadership’s potential to execute growth plans. RGP’s market capitalization sits around $146.9 million, with a most recent analyst Buy rating and a price target of $10.00.

The stock’s technical signal from Spark AI Analyst sits at 51/100, which reflects ongoing challenges in the broader market environment even as leadership changes can unlock near-term sentiment. Daily trading volume sits near 380,946 shares on average, which matters for liquidity as the company changes leadership and potentially shifts strategy.

What this means for the business lines, and for clients

Is clearer when you map leadership to delivery. The focus on CFO Advisory implies increased emphasis on financial leadership priorities, treasury, cost optimization, financial planning, and strategic finance capabilities, paired with Digital Transformation, which covers cloud adoption, data analytics, automation, and process redesign. Carlile’s background suggests a preference for practical, outcome-driven engagements that cut across finance, operations, and technology. Expect a push to convert strategic plans into firm-wide delivery improvements, with programs and teams aligned to deliver measurable client outcomes.

Duchene’s ttransition also signals the team’s intent to maintain client continuity. As Executive Advisor through early 2026, she remains available to support client relationships and governance while Carlile builds his leadership rhythm.

The extended consultant period through 2028 provides a buffer to complete ongoing engagements and preserve institutional knowledge as the new CEO scales the growth agenda. For clients, this matters: continuity of advisory relationships during leadership shifts reduces disruption and maintains momentum on current initiatives.

The insider view: Carlile’s appointment reads as a deliberate step to align the executive suite with a growth engine focused on high-demand capabilities. Ankura’s model, high-value strategy and implementation work across complex scenarios, translates well to CFO Advisory and Digital Transformation, where clients demand clear ROI and fast execution. Given Carlile’s prior governance experience as compensation committee chair since August 2025, he also arrives with governance insights that can help the company navigate investor expectations and board dynamics during a period of strategic repositioning.

From a market perspective, the move comes at a time when mid-market advisory firms compete on specialization and speed-to-value. RGP’s strategy to emphasize CFO Advisory and Digital Transformation positions it to address the middle-market segment with tailored solutions that cover finance function modernization, ERP optimization, data governance, and automation.

The CEO transition

Coupled with a clear strategic focus, should help RGP sharpen go-to-market messaging and client targeting. It remains critical to monitor deal activity and contract wins in the near term to confirm that execution is translating into revenue growth and client retention.

In practice, the timeline behind the transition is straightforward: Carlile starts November 3, 2025. Duchene’s last day as CEO was November 2, 2025. The Transition Agreement for Duchene was signed around October 31, 2025, and her Executive Advisor term ends January 3, 2026. Duchene’s consultant term ends December 31, 2028. The timeline signals a disciplined transition with a two-and-a-half year practical window for Duchene’s advisory phase and a staged leadership ramp for Carlile.

Author’s take: Every leadership shift in a professional services firm carries risk and opportunity in equal measure. RGP has built a portfolio of capabilities that map well to market demand (but execution matters).

Carlile’s track record

Carlile’s track record gives credibility on the growth front; the market’s initial reaction supports that view, though the stock’s longer-term performance will depend on client wins, project margins, and the pace of transformation. The company needs to maintain a tight execution discipline, clear program governance, measurable outcomes for CFO and Digital Transformation programs, and a robust client maintenance plan during the transition.

Key implications for teams and leaders: – Align service delivery with the CFO Advisory and Digital Transformation focus, ensuring cross-functional teams are structured for rapid, outcome-based delivery. – Preserve client relationships through Duchene’s advisory tenure and into the Carlile era, prioritizing smooth handoffs and continuity. – Accelerate go-to-market efforts with targeted industry verticals and account-based strategies that leverage Ankura-style problem solving in a mid-market context. – Monitor financial metrics closely, contract backlog, project margins, and utilization rates, to ensure the transformation drives sustainable profitability.

To sum it up, the change of CEO has been made with the main objective of growing in the field of financial advice and digital transition.

The market reacted very positively, but the real test will come from the execution of commitments to customers, margin management, and scalable delivery across teams..

If Carlile can translate Ankura’s operational playbook into RGP’s client base, and if the firm sustains a disciplined focus on its key growth areas, the transformation could begin to show up in project wins and revenue progression over the next 12 to 24 months. I believe this leadership change is designed to push RGP toward more disciplined growth and clearer client value. In the end, the transition is about turning strategy into reliable delivery and measurable outcomes for clients and investors alike.

Sources:

• https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/resources-connection-stock-soars-after-ceo-leadership-change-93CH-4328124

• https://www.tipranks.com/news/company-announcements/resources-connection-announces-new-ceo-appointment

• https://www.marketscreener.com/news/resources-connection-inc-announces-management-transition-effective-november-3-2025-ce7d5cd9d18ff020

• https://rgp.com/press/resources-connection-inc-announces-ceo-transition/

• https://www.stockinsights.ai/us/RGP/8-K/management-changes-20251103-2e7

Cathy Reyes

CEO of The Dot Blog. I can bring a lot to the table about leadership and team management as a media network has a lot of this.
During my career I have spent most of my time working in teams and managing one, so I like to share with others how companies and leaders in the business world manage their teams and what are the strategies to be a good leader.