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Key Findings:
60 announced CEO departures in 2023 versus 63 in 2022
6.9% of appointed CEOs in 2023 were women versus 18% in 2022
31% of appointed CEOs in 2023 were external hires versus 26.2% in 2022
Equilar 500 companies announced 60 CEO departures through the end of 2023. This compares to a total of 63 announced CEO departures in 2022. Of the 60 CEOs, 44 departed by the end of the fourth quarter with 16 others expected to leave in 2024.
The average tenure of outgoing CEOs in 2023 was 7.6 years with a median of 6.9 years. Reed Hastings of Netflix, Inc. had the longest tenure at 24.4 years. Jeffery C. Owen of Dollar General Corporation had the shortest tenure at just under one year. The figure below displays the tenure distribution of departing CEOs in 2023.
The average CEO lifetime pay for all 60 departing CEOs was $141.1 million, with a median of $63.7 million. Reed Hastings (Netflix, Inc.), whose tenure surpassed 24 years, earned the highest total CEO lifetime pay at $2.3 billion. Roger Perreault (UGI Corporation), with a tenure of two-and-a-half years, had the lowest CEO pay at $5.7 million.
During 2023, five female CEOs announced their departures: Anna Manning (Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated), Heyward R. Donigan (Rite Aid Corporation), Nazzic S. Keene (Science Applications International Corporation), Barbara R. Smith (Commercial Metals Company) and Rosalind G. Brewer (Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.). Four women were appointed CEO in 2023: Kimberly Allen Dang (Kinder Morgan, Inc), Michelle MacKay (Cushman & Wakefield plc), Toni Townes-Whitley (Science Applications International Corp), and Heidi G. Petz (The Sherwin-Williams Company). Overall, 6.9% of announced CEO appointments in 2023 were women, down from 18% in 2022 and up from 6.4% in 2021.
In total, external appointments increased from 17% in 2021 to 26.2% in 2022. For all appointments announced in 2023, 31% of CEO successors were external hires.
Departures
| Company Name | Ticker | Name | Effective Date | Gender | CEO Tenure1 | CEO Lifetime Pay2 |
1 Calculated as the earlier of the effective date or December 31, 2023
2 Compensation data collected since 2006
3 Co-CEO
4 Mr. Templeton served as CEO from May 2004 to May 31, 2018 and again beginning on July 17, 2018
5 Mr. Gamgort will depart from his role as CEO in the second quarter of 2024
Successors
| Company Name | Ticker | Successor | Successor Gender | Internal | Successor Previous Role |
1 Acting/Interim
Senior Research Analyst at Equilar, co-authored this post.
Research Manager at Equilar, co-authored this post.
Research Analyst at Equilar, co-authored this post.
Please contact Amit Batish, Senior Director, Content & Communications, at abatish@equilar.com for more information on Equilar research and data analysis.
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