Chief executives of publicly traded US companies are leaving in record numbers despite historic pay bonuses as the booming stock market and fear of turmoil in 2025 has prompted executives to exit.
In the year to November, 327 chief executives at US public companies announced they were leaving, exceeding the record 312 exits in 2019, according to Challenger Gray, a consultancy. A number of tumultuous CEO exits occurred at blue-chip companies as leaders at Boeing (Dave Calhoun), Intel (Pat Gelsinger) and Nike (John Donahoe) stepped down this year amid sinking share prices.
The exits have contributed to a falling tenure for the role. In the third quarter, eight CEOs left after lasting less than three years in the position, the highest number of short-term appointments since 2019, according to consultancy Russell Reynolds.