The pace of turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers was virtually unchanged in May, as 98 CEOs announced their departures during the month, according to a report issued Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The May total was up 4.3 percent from the 94 CEO departures recorded in April. It was down 5.8 percent from the 104 CEO changes announced the same month a year ago.
On the heels of Target’s May 5th announcement that chief executive officer Gregg Steinhafel will resign following a major data breach that left thousands of credit card numbers vulnerable, global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. reported 94 CEOs left their posts in April.
The April total was down 24 percent from the 123 CEO departures recorded in March and matched the number of CEO exits during the same month a year ago.
Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers rose 9.8 percent in March, as 123 CEOs left their posts during the month. Last month’s departures brings the first-quarter total to 366, the most in a single quarter since 408 left their posts in the third quarter of 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The quarterly total was 18.4 percent higher than the same period a year ago when 309 CEO exits were announced, and 23.4 percent higher than the previous quarter, when 297 CEO changes took place.
Healthcare was the leading sector in CEO changes last quarter with 86, 31 of which occurred in March. Government/Non-Profit entities announced 50 CEO departures last quarter, and computer firms followed with 40.
Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers declined 14.5 percent in February, as 112 CEOs left their posts during the month. While last month’s total was down from 131 CEO departures in January, it was the heaviest February turnover since 2010 when 132 changes were recorded, according to a report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The February total was 1.8 percent higher than the same month a year ago when 110 CEO exits were announced. To date, 243 CEO changes have been announced in 2014, which is nine percent more than the 223 tracked in the first two months of 2013.
Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers surged 32.3 percent in January to its highest level in nearly four years. A total of 131 CEOs left their posts during the month, up from 99 in December, according to a report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The most notable announcement in December came from General Motors which announced that retiring CEO Dan Akerson will be replaced by Mary Barra, the company’s first female CEO, and in fact, the first female CEO of a global auto maker.
According to Challenger’s data, 159 female CEOs left their posts in 2013. Of those, 44 were replaced by other women. Of the 1,087 men who left their posts last year, 116 were replaced by women, while 746 were replaced by other men. This is a slight improvement over last year, when 148 women left the CEO role, and 136 rose to the top spot.
After four consecutive months in which departures among the nation’s chief executive officers totaled more than 100, the pace of turnover declined somewhat in November, with 94 CEOs announcing their exits during that month. That is 9.6 percent fewer than the 104 who left their post in October, according to a report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers declined slightly in September as 107 planned CEO departures were reported, down 5.6 percent from the 113 in August, according to a report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The September total was up 12.6 percent from the same month a year ago when 95 were recorded. This marks the third consecutive month in which CEO changes outpaced the same month last year.
Overall, third-quarter CEO departures totaling 348 are up 23 percent from the 282 announced during the same three-month span in 2012. It is the highest quarterly since 352 CEO changes were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008, the year Challenger tracked the most CEO changes on record with 1,484.
Challenger has now tracked 949 CEO changes so far this year, 6.5 percent more than the 891 departures announced in the first nine months of 2012.
CEO Departures by Industry
Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers remained elevated in August as 113 planned CEO departures were reported, including notable retirement announcements from Steve Ballmer at Microsoft and John Surma at U.S. Steel Corp.
While the 113 departures recorded in August is above the year-to-date average (105), the monthly total was 11.7 percent lower than July, when CEO changes reached a three-year high of 128, according to the latest report on CEO turnover released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The August total was up 8.7 percent from the 104 CEO exits recorded in August of last year. This marks the fifth month this year that CEO changes were higher than the corresponding period from a year ago.
Challenger has now tracked 842 CEO changes so far this year, 5.8 percent more than the 796 recorded in the first eight months of 2012.
Last month saw a major announcements from tech-giant Microsoft, whose CEO Steve Ballmer announced he would leave amid falling sales and charges that the company is slow to adapt to mobile markets and tablet PCs. Investors reacted positively to the news, as it increased share prices. Meanwhile, Chicago start-up-turned-public-offering Groupon announced that Eric Leftkofsky would continue at the helm after taking over as interim CEO for Andrew Mason in February. Co-CEO Ted Leonsis will remain Chairman.
“Neither Microsoft nor Groupon had a firm succession plan for replacing Ballmer and Mason. This is not uncommon, but it could prove costly in the long run, as companies must first struggle to fill the void in leadership and then traverse a volatile period of adjustment that typically occurs following such a significant change,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers surged to the highest level in more than three years last month as 128 announced their departures. The July total was up 36 percent from the 94 CEO exits recorded in June, according to the latest report on CEO turnover released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
July departures increased 54.2 percent from a year ago, when 83 CEO changes were recorded. It was the highest monthly total since February 2010, when 132 CEOs left their posts.
Challenger has now tracked 729 CEO changes so far this year, 5.3 percent more than the 692 recorded in the first seven months of 2012. It is the first time in 2013 that the year-to-date total exceeds the number of departures from the comparable period in 2012. Continue reading
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