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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.

 

Press Release 10 January 2013
Final Months of 2012 See Jump In CEO Turnover

2012 SEES MORE CEO CHANGES THAN PREVIOUS YEAR

http://www.challengergray.com/press/PressRelease.aspx?PressUid=255

 

CHICAGO, January 10, 2013 –The executive suite saw increased volatility as 2012 came to a close, with 323 chief executive officers leaving their posts in the final three months of the year.  That was up 26 percent from 256 CEO departures recorded during the same period a year earlier, according to the latest report on CEO turnover released Wednesday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. 

 

December marked the third consecutive month in which more than 100 CEO changes were recorded.  A total of 103 CEO changes were announced last month, down eight percent from 112 in November.  December departures were up 24 percent from the same month in 2011, when 83 CEOs vacated their offices.

 

The year-end surge helped push the number of CEO departures recorded in 2012 to 1,214, which represents a three percent increase over the 1,178 exits recorded in 2011.

 

The 323 CEO changes announced in the third quarter were up 14.5 percent from the previous quarter.  It was the highest quarterly total since the fourth quarter of 2010 when 378 CEO departures were recorded. 

 

“The increased pace of CEO turnover in the final months of 2012 could be indicative of a turning point in the recovery.  We may see heavy turnover continue into 2013 as the economy continues to improve and companies shake up management to reflect a change in strategy from one centered around maintaining stability to one focused on growth and expansion,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

 

The healthcare sector experienced the highest CEO turnover in 2012 with 230 changes, up 23 percent from 187 changes in 2011. The government and non-profit sector had the second highest turnover in 2012 with 179, up 17.7 percent from 152 changes in 2011.

 

Computer firms saw the next highest number of CEO exits with 127, up 9.5 percent over the 116 changes recorded at computer companies in 2011.  Several notable departures came from this sector in 2012, including announcements from Yahoo!, Intel, and most recently Go-Daddy in December. Go-Daddy hired former Yahoo! chief product officer Blake Irving to replace Scott Wagner.

Financial firms recorded 123 CEO changes, the same number that was recorded for financial firms in 2011. The top four industries made up 54 percent of all recorded CEO changes in 2012.

Resignation was the most often cited reason for CEO departures with 360, almost 30 percent of all recorded reasons. Retirement was cited by 267 CEOs in 2012. Another 200 CEOs stepped down from their posts, usually into a Board or Chairman position, while 138 found new positions in other companies.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE DEPARTURES

Public vs. Private

	Dec-12	2012 Year-End Total	2011 Year-End Total
Private	83	948	882
Public	20	266	296

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2012 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

CEO DEPARTURES

By Industry

	12-Dec	Y-T-D 2012	11-Dec	Y-T-D 2011
Aerospace/Defense		12	1	17
Apparel	1	2	1	10
Automotive	1	18	3	22
Chemical	1	9		7
Commodities	1	5		4
Computer	12	127	7	116
Construction	1	16	1	13
Consumer Products	1	24	3	31
Electronics	5	36	4	42
Energy	3	51	3	58
Entertainment/Leisure	4	50	2	44
Financial	13	123	5	123
Food	1	25		12
Government/Non-Profit	17	179	13	152
Health Care/Products	18	230	12	187
Industrial Goods	6	38	2	33
Insurance		24	2	18
Legal		1		3
Media	2	31	4	47
Pharmaceutical	3	44	9	59
Real Estate	1	16		20
Retail	1	40	6	36
Services	6	57	1	55
Telecommunications	3	15	1	26
Transportation	2	29	2	20
Utility		12	1	23
TOTAL	103	1,214	83	1,178

 

 

 

Copyright 2012 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

CEO DEPARTURES

By Reason

	12-Dec	Y-T-D
Resigned	29	360
Retired	26	267
Step Down	20	200
New position in another company	9	138
Interim Period Ended	6	84
Removed	3	37
Another position within company	2	34
Acquisition/Merger	4	31
Scandal	1	13
Died	1	13
Health	1	10
Ousted	1	8
Contract Dispute/Expiration		7
Bankruptcy		5
Economic Conditions		2
Liquidation		2
Financial Losses		2
Family		1

 

CEO DEPARTURES

Average Age, Tenure

	Age		Tenure
	2012	2011	2012	2011
January	61.3	60.8	6.9	7.6
February	57.9	61.7	9.8	9.6
March	62.1	60	8.3	7.4
April	58.0	63.2	8.0	8.1
May	62.2	55.7	7.9	7.1
June	57.8	62.4	8.4	8.1
July	52.3	56	6.8	11.9
August	65.7	59.4	8.9	7.3
September	60.1	64.7	8.2	5.1
October	68.5	61.8	8.5	9.8
November	62.4	58.4	7.3	7.0
December	66.5	66.7	11.9	7.7

 

Copyright 2012 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

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