Navigating the Surge in Executive Turnover
Four ways to strengthen your talent pipeline—and particularly the pool from which your successor will be tapped.
Turnover rates began to steadily climb in 2020 and continued to do so over the next two years. In 2022 alone, voluntary departures hit historic highs, with an estimated 50.5 million workers leaving their jobs for other opportunities — be it for a higher paying gig, a company that better aligned with their values or to pursue their passion project.
While the Great Resignation has finally wound down, another phenomenon is now picking up speed: Executive turnover. More than 1,400 chief executives abandoned their posts between January and September 2023. That’s almost a 50% year-over-year increase in c-suite turnover.
Retirement is mainly driving the trend, with many executives having already planned to step down. It was just a matter of timing — and uncertainties stemming from the pandemic, trade tensions, supply chain disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and a host of other factors. However, all the ups and downs over the last few years have left an increasing number of executives burnt out and in need of a break or a change of scenery. Regardless of the reason for the surge in separations, companies are now in quite a predicament, and it’s often a result of their own doing.
Countless companies have not properly invested in their leadership pipeline, so much so that, for some businesses, the pool has almost completely run dry. Not to mention, when they arrive at a qualified candidate, many are well past retirement age or even older than outgoing CEOs. This hiring trend puts the company and investors at risk, especially with another executive transition right around the corner. It also underscores the importance of CEO succession planning. Without absolute stability in leadership, business continuity can quickly go out the window and erode employee engagement, morale, customer confidence, brand reputation, and more.
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About Chief Executive Group
With over 25 years of corporate governance knowledge, Corporate Board Member provides today’s corporate leaders with the resources they need to add value to the boardroom and beyond.
About Cowen Partners Executive Search
Cowen Partners is the nation’s executive search firm, enabling companies to harness the power of human capital to fuel their success. Cowen Partners gives our clients access to the top 1% of human capital to create opportunities that accelerate their growth and market share. With Cowen Partners, clients can grow at scale, create value, and drive results with world class talent. Our clients are both small and large, publicly traded, pre-IPO, private, and non-profit organizations.
Clients are typically $50 million to multi-billion dollar revenue Fortune 1000 companies or have assets between $500 million to $15 billion. Successful placements span the entire C-Suite and include VP and director level leadership roles.
With our proven processes and guaranteed results, we have successfully placed hundreds of candidates in industries including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, financial services, and private equity.
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