2010 MID-YEAR TOTAL SURPASSES 2009
CHICAGO, July 8, 2010 – Turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers fell 16.8 percent in June, as 107 departures were announced during the month, down from 125 in May. June marks the fifth consecutive month with more than 100 departures, according to the latest report on CEO turnover released Thursday from global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Last month’s departures were nearly even with June 2009, when 105 CEO exits were recorded. Overall, the pace of CEO turnover is up 11 percent from a year ago. Through the first six month of the year, a total of 673 CEO changes were announced, compared to 607 during the same period last year.
Through the first half of 2010, resignation has been the most commonly reason for departure, cited by 201 outgoing CEO s. That is up from 152 at this point last year. Another 112 CEO s have stepped down, which typically indicates that the CEO remains with the company in some capacity; usually as a director or chairman of the board.
The second most common reason for departure was retirement, which was cited by 190 exiting CEO s in the first six months of the year, compared to 108 retirements in the first half of 2009.
As a sign of the volatile economy in which current corporate leaders must operate, 19 CEO s have been removed or pressured to leave by the board. Another 11 departing CEO s cited economic conditions for their exits, while four were ousted in the wake of some legal entanglement or other public scandal. This brings the number of involuntary departures in 2010 to 34. At this point in 2009, there were 27 involuntary departures.
“Of course, many of the 201 resignations may also have been involuntary, to some degree. However, companies do not publicly admonish the outgoing CEO unless he or she was particularly damaging to the organization. In many cases, companies are simply making leadership changes based on a shift in corporate strategies. These types of changes occur with more frequency when the economy is in flux, as it is now,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
