Chief Concern? CEO Retention Is Down ... Again

The revolving door for chief executive officers (CEOs) is spinning faster than ever, as departures increased 16% versus 2024 and 21% versus the eight-year average, according to the Global CEO Turnover Index from Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search and leadership advisory firm.

According to Rusty O’Kelley, the study’s author and co-lead of the Russell Reynolds Associates’ Board and CEO Advisory Partners in the Americas, CEO turnover is on the rise because the role has become harder and less forgiving.

“We are seeing boards operating in a more volatile environment — economic and political uncertainty, tariff and regulatory shifts, geopolitical tension, faster technology change, and much more scrutiny from investors,” he explained.

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A ‘Continuous Leadership Conversation’

Additional data from executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed more than 2,000 CEO exits last year. Among publicly traded companies, the firm recorded 446 CEO exits in 2025, the highest annual total on record since the firm began tracking this data in 2002. In 2024, the figure was 373 departures.

Given that trend, forward-thinking boards are treating succession planning “as a continuous leadership conversation, not a periodic governance exercise,” said Paul Leinwand, a principal at management consulting firm PwC.

Boards also recognize CEO success is rarely an individual accomplishment, he noted.

“One of the most consistent themes we hear from CEOs is the importance of having a highly effective leadership team around them,” Leinwand said. “Succession planning should, therefore, encompass not only CEO candidates but also the strength, readiness and adaptability of the broader leadership bench.”

According to Leinwand, the organizations that navigate CEO change most effectively focus on three things early:

Ensuring the leadership team is aligned and effective;
Creating clarity around the organization’s value-creation priorities; and,
Building trust across employees, boards and other stakeholders.

“Those factors often determine whether a transition becomes a catalyst for progress or simply a change in title,” he said.

A successful CEO also needs a clear mandate from the board, alignment on the strategy and risk agenda, and the space and independence to achieve that strategy, said Ariane Marchis-Mouren, a senior researcher at The Conference Board, a global nonprofit think tank.

But that does not mean insulating CEOs from accountability, she warned.

Rather, it means ensuring the board is consistent on priorities, communicates governance continuity to investors and employees, and supports the CEO with the right executive team, succession bench and compensation design.

“This is especially important now because many transitions are about strategic recalibration — not crisis — and because external hires and first-time CEOs may need more deliberate onboarding, stakeholder support and early clarity on expectations,” Marchis-Mouren said.

How HR Can Offer Support

With so much uncertainty in today’s business world, organizations should be agile and ready to pivot at a moment’s notice, especially if a CEO decides to leave, said Peter Thies, a managing director at executive compensation advisory firm Pearl Meyer.

“The real opportunity for HR is to actually create conditions in the company for a sustainable leadership pipeline,” he noted. “The best processes that support succession planning involve high-intensity development programs that offer candid, valuable feedback on how leaders are doing through 360-degree interviews from people who work with them.”

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Chief Concern? CEO Retention Is Down ... Again

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