The number of U.S. chief executive officers who lost or left their jobs in November added 147 to 2019’s record total of 1,480. The total through the first 11 months of the year is just four short of the full-year record of 1,484 set in 2008.
Month over month, the number of CEOs who left their jobs was essentially flat with October’s 148. At the end of November 2018, some 1,323 CEOs had announced plans to leave their posts, 12% fewer than have announced in the same period this year.
The year-to-date total is the highest since 2002, when outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas first began tracking CEO departures.
November was only the second month of this year during which the month-over-month total number of announced departures was lower.
A total of 1,452 CEOs left their jobs in 2018, the second-highest ever. In all of 2017, some 1,160 CEOs left their jobs, down 7% from the prior year’s 1,248.
Vice President Andrew Challenger said:
Several factors are contributing to the high rate of CEO turnover. One is a strong economy and high demand for C-level skills are attracting CEOs to new positions. Another is the ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade and regulations while emerging technologies continue to disrupt almost every industry. We are also tracking companies that are demanding accountability in their CEOs’ professional and personal lives. Any behavior unbecoming to a company’s brand is pretty quickly followed by a resignation announcement.
Last week, Challenger reported that job cuts through November were more than 13% higher than in the same period last year and the highest total for the period since 2015.
Of the CEOs who left in November, 39 stepped down, 26 retired and 18 took new positions with another company. Challenger noted that no CEO left due to allegations of sexual misconduct, while four were replaced following allegations of professional misconduct. Nine CEOs were involuntarily terminated last month.
The government/nonprofit sector saw 29 CEO changes in November, bringing the nine-month total to 310, the most of any Challenger category and a 20% year-over-year increase. Tech sector CEOS have seen 138 changes so far this year to rank second in turnover at the top, and financial sector CEO turnover ranks third with 135 changes in the first 11 months of the year.
The average age of a departing CEO in November was 53.2 years, compared to an average age of 60.1 among November 2018’s departing chiefs. The average tenure of these CEOs was 9.4 years last month, down from 9.6 years in November 2018.
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