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This article is informed by and builds upon original reporting and data analysis by David Lambert in “Record CEO Exodus in Early 2025,” published on The Business Growth & Blueprint Project (June 2025). Full piece here.
The corner office has become a revolving door. As breakneck technological innovation, economic uncertainty, and pressure on business leaders reach new heights, CEO turnover is at record levels. Boards and organizations that want to navigate this new leadership landscape can ill afford to ignore the trends at play.
This report aims to break down the data, identify the forces driving this shift, and present a blueprint for CEO succession that positions organizations to not just survive but thrive amid CEO turnover.
The Numbers: Record CEO Turnover in 2024
In 2024, a record 202 CEOs departed the world’s largest publicly listed organizations, a 9% increase from the prior year. Among the S&P 500, 58 CEOs departed in 2024, a 21% year-over-year increase. Turnover has further accelerated in early 2025, with 1,563 CEOs leaving their roles across all companies in the first 8 months.
For boards and organizations, these are not just statistics but flashpoints that can upend strategic continuity and define a company for years to come.
What’s Driving This Leadership Churn?
Technology as Catalyst
The technology sector experienced the greatest spike in CEO turnover in 2024, with 40 departures in S&P 500 technology companies, up 90% from the prior year. Artificial intelligence and digital transformation are not just business trends but true necessities, requiring leaders with experience driving organizational change at scale and with a deep enough understanding of technology to set informed strategy. This rarefied skillset is in high demand and leads to shorter tenures.
Investor Pressure
Boards are giving CEOs dramatically less time to prove themselves before making a change at the top, with nearly 40% of all departing CEOs in 2024 having been forced out. Investor patience is evaporating, activist investors are empowered, and new CEOs are under the gun from day one to show immediate results.
CEO Burnout
A recent survey found that 71% of CEOs experience burnout some of the time, with 32% reporting they feel burned out frequently or daily. The job has fundamentally changed: CEOs must satisfy shareholders, employees, customers, regulators, media, and the public all at once while navigating pandemic aftershocks, supply chain issues, inflation, labor shortages, and AI-driven transformation. It is an almost impossible job, leading many to retire rather than serve another term.
The Interim CEO Economy
One of the most noteworthy trends of 2025 is the dramatic increase in interim CEO appointments. In Q1 2025, interim appointments accounted for 18% of all incoming CEOs, up from just 6% in 2024. This trend points to a hard truth that many organizations lack a bench of ready internal candidates when a turnover event occurs. Rather than quickly naming a permanent successor, boards choose to appoint an interim leader as a placeholder while a more deliberate search is conducted.
The result is often a vacuum at the top papered over with an interim appointment. Boards must resist this band-aid approach and make building bench strength their top priority.
First-Time CEOs and New Challenges
85% of all incoming CEOs in 2024 had never previously served as CEO at a publicly listed organization. Greater scrutiny, broader responsibilities, and external pressures mean many experienced CEOs are choosing to step away from the role rather than serve another term. The modern CEO role is simply more difficult, with less margin for error.
The rise of first-time CEOs is both opportunity and risk. Fresh faces can provide new perspectives and energy, but first-time CEOs also face a steeper learning curve in a role where there is far less room for error than ever before. Boards must set new CEOs up for success with careful onboarding, support, and realistic expectations.
Women in Leadership: A Concerning Decline
In 2025, just 23-25% of all incoming CEOs have been women, down from around 28% in 2024. This decline, alongside an overall higher turnover of women CEOs and men replacing women more than half the time, suggests women leaders may not be getting the support they need to succeed.
In an era of historic turnover, boards must make special efforts to provide continuity for women leaders already in place and commit to a level playing field for women on search committees despite noisy internal critics.
What Boards Must Do Now
Make Succession Planning Continuous
Succession planning can no longer be reactive; it must be an ongoing process that actively maintains a pipeline of internal and external candidates ready to step into the role. This requires a deep understanding of current and future organizational needs.
Deepen Your Bench
With internal talent becoming a primary source of CEO appointments, boards must ensure a robust bench of potential CEOs. Chief Operating Officers represent the top source of internal appointments (21% of incoming CEOs), but boards must think creatively about future skills. In technology, less than one in ten incoming CEOs had prior CEO experience, with boards prioritizing deep technical expertise over traditional credentials.
Partner with the Right Search Professional
In an environment where the stakes have never been higher, organizations need search professionals who truly understand what makes a leader successful in context and are not just focused on resume matching.
At Diestel Executive Search, we know successful search requires extensive networks, rigorous assessments, and a consultative approach that builds true partnership for every assignment. With over 25 years of experience, we’ve helped organizations find transformational leaders through many challenging landscapes.
The current accelerating “CEO revolving door” presents challenges, but also opportunity – to bring in fresh perspectives, align leadership with strategic needs, and position organizations for future success.
For organizations looking to chart a course through this new reality, the time to act is now. Begin building bench strength, partnering with experienced search professionals, and positioning your organization for success no matter how many times that top leadership position comes open.
Reach out today to see how we can help your organization’s next CEO search, or visit diestel.com to learn more.
Diestel Executive Search, a partner of PrincePerelson & Associates, specializes in connecting organizations with transformational leaders. For more than 25 years, we’ve delivered world-class executive search services. Visit diestel.com or call 801.365.0385.