Why Bupa CEO Iñaki Ereño Subjects Executive Candidates to a Six-Hour Interview Test

Chief executive officers across major global enterprises are moving away from traditional short interview formats, deploying intensive multi-stage evaluations to reduce costly executive recruitment errors. International healthcare provider Bupa, which recorded £18.2 billion ($24.5 billion) in revenue in 2025 across 190 countries and 100,000 employees, has instituted a six-hour recruitment framework for prospective senior leaders.

Bupa CEO Iñaki Ereño revealed that his evaluation system replaces standard 45-minute assessments with three distinct two-hour meetings. Ereño developed the protocol to safeguard the organization against misaligned executive appointments, noting that brief interview formats proved insufficient for evaluating senior management capabilities.

The initial phase of Ereño’s system consists of a two-hour examination of the candidate’s curriculum vitae and professional history. Candidates then transition to a secondary two-hour off-site session conducted during a restaurant breakfast or lunch, designed to observe candidates outside formal office parameters.

Ereño specifically observes whether candidates feel comfortable ordering a glass of wine when he orders water, viewing passive alignment with his choice as a lack of leadership proactivity. During the meal, he evaluates candidates on specific behavioral indicators, including their initiative and confidence when selecting food and beverages.

The meal session also measures candidate interactions with restaurant staff and general interpersonal demeanor. Ereño emphasized that respectful behavior toward waiters and non-verbal communication during informal settings serve as primary screening criteria during the evaluation.

The final two-hour session returns to Bupa’s corporate office to examine personal background, organizational expectations, and long-term career vision. Ereño stated that this structured six-hour strategy has significantly reduced hiring mistakes across the multinational healthcare firm.

Other chief executives have adopted similar non-traditional screening methods to assess leadership potential and corporate culture alignment. Khozema Shipchandler, chief executive officer of the $31 billion communications company Twilio, conducts 45-minute dinner meetings with senior candidates to evaluate executive presence and teamwork orientation.

Shipchandler tracks language patterns during dinner interviews, identifying excessive use of the word “I” as a marker of weak collaboration skills. Additionally, Shipchandler allocates 20 minutes for candidate inquiries, regarding an absence of candidate questions as a critical red flag during senior recruitment.

Off-site informal interviews have long been utilized by technology leaders, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Jobs relied on an informal walk-and-talk approach termed the “beer test” to determine whether an applicant possessed the interpersonal fit necessary for candid collaboration.

Interpersonal behavior throughout the entire recruitment visit remains a focal point for corporate founders. Steven Bartlett, founder of Diary of a CEO, recruited an applicant with zero prior experience after observing her acknowledge security staff by name upon entering the building.