CEO Departures Have Reached a Record High with Almost 2,000

The nameplates on CEO offices are changing at what appears to be an historic pace. 

In the first 11 months of the year, 1,991 CEOs have announced their departures, according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s up 16% compared with the same timeframe last year and the highest tally on record since the firm began tracking CEO changes in 2002.

Hit the Bricks

This year’s high-profile breakups included Nike and John Donahoe, Intel and Pat Gelsinger, and Boeing and Dave Calhoun. With the economy going strong, the stock market on a two-year bull run, and consumer spending trending upward, corporate boards are demanding more from their CEOs and — in some cases — ditching them faster than ever. “The spotlight has been on, and boards of directors moved faster than they might have moved five or seven years ago,” Clarke Murphy, of Russell Reynolds Associates, told CNBC.

However, not every departure was the result of boards and investors at their wits’ end:

• Retirement, the third most common reason for CEO departures, accounts for 445 exits, according to the firm. Leaving for new opportunities accounted for 148 CEO departures.
• Companies in the government/non-profit sector led in CEO transitions with 438 exits, while retail was at the lower end of the spectrum with just 37 CEO exits.

Temporary Solution: The strategy of appointing an interim CEO has become a little more popular in 2024. This year, 13% of all replacements were named on an interim basis, compared with 7% of all incoming CEOs in 2023, the study found.

“It’s much less disruptive to replace an interim head if things do not appear to be working out, not only to the company and its employees, but also to analysts and shareholders,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.