CEO turnover is accelerating in 2025—and it’s not primarily triggered by poor corporate performance.
New research from The Conference Board, Egon Zehnder, and Semler Brossy finds that high-performing organizations are now nearly as likely to undergo a CEO transition as underperforming ones. In 2025, turnover among S&P 500 CEOs in the top three performance quartiles (measured by total shareholder return) came in at 12 percent, nearly matching bottom-quartile performers (14 percent). This marks a stark shift from the previous year, when the gap between the two cohorts was 7 percent versus 18 percent.
At the same time, CEO departures are rising. The succession rate climbed to 12.5 percent in 2025, up from a historic low of 9.8 percent in 2024 and 12.2 percent in 2023. While part of this reflects a return to historical norms, it also stems from persistent macroeconomic volatility, shifting leadership skill requirements and an increase in externally hired CEOs.
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