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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

 

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James K. Pedderson, Director of Public Relations

Office: 312-422-5078

Mobile: 847-567-1463

jamespedderson@challengergray.com

 

Colleen Madden, Media Relations Manager

Office: 312-422-5074

colleenmadden@challengergray.com

 

2012 Begins With CEO Turnover Surge

123 CHANGES IN JANUARY HIGHEST SINCE MAY 2010
http://challengergray.com/press/press.aspx

 

CHICAGO, February 8, 2012 – The new year brought a surge in turnover among the nation’s chief executive officers, as 123 left their posts in January.  That is the highest monthly total since May 2010 when 125 changes were recorded, according to the monthly report on CEO turnover released Wednesday by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The 123 January CEO departures was a 48 percent increase from the 83 exits recorded in December.  Last month’s total was 28 percent higher than January 2011, when 96 chief executive departures were announced.

“2011 saw relatively mild CEO turnover as companies tried to determine how best to maneuver the economic climate.  Companies were focused on cutting costs and doing more with less.  Now, as jobs begin to trickle back and other factors signal economic growth, companies may try to find leaders who are able to drive expansion,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Health care had the highest CEO turnover last month with 25 CEO departures, up from nine a year ago.  Health care organizations saw the heaviest CEO turnover among all sectors in 2011, as 187 CEOs left their posts; an average of nearly 16 per month. 

Last month, health care was followed by financial services firms which had 13 CEOs announce their departures, including Michael Williams of embattled lender Fannie Mae who announced he would resign after a successor was named.  Williams’ announcement comes on the heels of outcry over huge taxpayer-funded compensation packages.  Freddie Mac’s CEO Charles Haldeman Jr. announced last October he would resign some time this year.

Meanwhile, the government/non-profit sector experienced 11 chief executive changes while the computer industry saw 10.

Of the 123 departures announced last month, 39 were resignations, according to Challenger tracking.  The relatively vague reason for departure is typically the most commonly cited.  It was followed last month by retirement, which was cited by 32 exiting CEOs.   Another 25 stepped down into other roles within the leadership structure, usually as the Chairman. 

Besides Williams at Fannie Mae, other notable departures include Tom Curley of the Associated Press who retired after 9 years at the helm. Wayne Gattinella of WebMD resigned amid falling revenue and an abandoned sale of the company.  Glen Senk resigned from retailer Urban Outfitters, replaced by chairman of the board Richard Hayne.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE DEPARTURES
	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
January	123	96	89	113	134	114
February		92	132	82	114	127
March		99	119	114	123	103
April		103	101	78	112	126
May		103	125	115	115	144
June		113	107	105	126	105
July		104	88	126	124	88
August		104	95	101	144	124
September		108	111	105	140	112
October		91	81	89	125	96
November		82	79	94	104	132
December		83	107	105	123	85
TOTAL	123	1,178	1,234	1,227	1,484	1,356
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.©

 

 

 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE DEPARTURES

Public vs. Private

	January 2012	January 2011	2011 Year-End Total
Private	93	71	882
Public	30	25	296

 

 

Copyright 2012 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

 

CEO DEPARTURES

By Industry

 

	Jan-12	Jan-11
Health Care/Products	25	9
Financial	13	9
Government/Non-Profit	11	12
Computer	10	7
Pharmaceutical	9	4
Services	8	9
Retail	6	5
Electronics	5	8
Energy	5	3
Entertainment/Leisure	5	3
Media	4	2
Construction	3	1
Consumer Products	3	2
Insurance	3	1
Utility	3	1
Food	2	1
Industrial Goods	2	4
Transportation	2	1
Aerospace/Defense	1	3
Chemical	1	1
Commodities	1
Telecommunications	1	2
Apparel		3
Automotive		3
Legal
Real Estate		2
TOTAL	123	96

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2012 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

 

 

CEO DEPARTURES

By Reason

	Jan-12	Jan-11
Resigned	39	31
Retired	32	15
Step Down	25	25
New position in another company	11	6
Interim Period Ended	7	7
Acquisition/Merger	3	2
Another position within company	3	4
Died	2	2
Removed	1	2
Health		1
Scandal
Ousted
Bankruptcy
Pressure From Board		1

 

 

CEO DEPARTURES

Average Age, Tenure

	Age		Tenure
	2012	2011	2012	2011
January	61.3	60.8	6.9	7.6
February		61.7		9.6
March		60		7.4
April		63.2		8.1
May		55.7		7.1
June		62.4		8.1
July		56		11.9
August		59.4		7.3
September		64.7		5.1
October		61.8		9.8
November		58.4		7.0
December		66.7		7.7

 

 

Copyright 2012 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

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