Emerging, existing pressures challenging CEOs in coming months
Organisations can expect a lot of C-suite departures this year amid ongoing massive pressures surrounding their roles, according to reports.
Tim Ryan, PwC senior partner, recently told Business Insider that the world will see "more turnover in the C-suite in the next 12 months" than ever.
Ryan attributed his remark to the "massively complex job" held by members of the C-suite, where they need to balance demands of stakeholders and address existing and emerging challenges.
"You have investors who want something in the short term, the board is thinking about the short term and the long term, you've got workers you are worried about leaving behind, rising regulation, technology is moving at a rapid pace, climate is increasing at every level. You've got to reinvent yourself," Ryan said as quoted by Business Insider.
Nearly six in 10 CEOs across the world are already afraid of losing their jobs amid major disruptions facing leadership, according to a previous report from AlixPartners.
The report revealed that interest rates, inflation, and geopolitical tensions are their biggest concerns this year.
"Through it all, climate change is accelerating, and technology continues its disruptive march," said Simon Freakley, CEO of AlixPartners, in the report.
According to Ryan, those who are in charge of their organisations should ask the following questions:
- Do they actually want to do the job?
- Do they have five years to do it?
- Does the company's board want them to do it?
- Do they have the track record to convince investor to let them do it?
CEO departure record
Nearly 1,500 CEOs have already left their post in the first three quarters of 2023, according to recent research from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
This includes the 518 CEOs who left their position in the third quarter alone, marking the highest ever quarterly departure levels on US record.
Among these departures, 31% did not state the reason why, according to the report.
For the remaining exits, 22% said this was for retirement, while another 17% was because they "stepped down" to other C-level, advisory, or Board roles.
Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told CNN that many leaders are departing because they are in "relatively stable waters."
"Others are battling burnout, while some companies, facing new technology and economic uncertainty, seek new leaders to usher in changes," Challenger said.
