Clockwise from top: former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun (CNBC), former Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan (Getty Images), former Nike CEO John Donahoe ( Reuters), former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger (Getty Images)
TL: CNBC | TR: Getty Images | BL: Reuters | BR: Getty Images
CEOs who have retired, been ousted or poached have exited this year.
This year through November, U.S. public companies have announced 327 CEO changes, according to employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
That’s more than any other year since at least 2010, when the company first started tracking revenue. It also increased by 8.6% compared with last year.
Departures include CEOs of U.S. companies that have long dominated their industries, such as boeing company, Nike and Starbucks. The pace of change suggests the companies’ customers, investors, hedge funds or boards are increasingly impatient with sales slumps or strategic missteps in an otherwise strong economy while consumers prove their mettle willing to spend money.
During the pandemic, CEO replacements slowed down, and companies were suddenly faced with lockdowns, remote working, supply chain difficulties and shortages, and even the inability to survive outright. They later faced higher borrowing costs, inflation, labor shortages, shifting consumer preferences and other challenges.
Over the past 14 years, 2021 has the lowest number of replacements at 197.
“The cost of capital and the speed of transformation are creating faster turnover rates,” said Clarke Murphy, managing director and former CEO of leadership consultancy Russell Reynolds Associates.
In an otherwise strong market, it’s easier for underperformers to stand out, Murphy said.
“With the S&P (500) returning more than 20% for two years in a row, any company that is significantly underperforming is going to be in the spotlight, and boards may be moving faster than they were five or seven years ago.” Fei said.
Consumer-focused companies are more susceptible to changes in tastes and trends and typically have higher turnover than industries like oil and gas or utilities, which tend to have in-house, longer-tenured CEOs.
The recent surge in turnover comes despite a decline in the number of listed companies.
Here are some of the major changes among U.S. CEOs so far this year:
Intel
semiconductor company Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger was ousted earlier this month, nearly four years after he was appointed to turn around the chipmaker and better compete with rivals.
IntelWave of artificial intelligence boosts chip maker stock prices and market shares plummet NVIDIA Intel, on the other hand, is trying to break into this business.
A successor has not yet been named.
boeing company
The aerospace giant announced former CEO Dave Calhoun He left in March as part of a broader executive shakeup. Nearly three months ago, an unsecured door plug blew out of a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by the company in mid-air. Alaska Airlinesafter years of problems in its defense and commercial aerospace businesses, the company is back in a safety crisis, frustrating leaders of some of its largest airline customers.
Calhoun himself was appointed in the final days of 2019 to replace former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted over his handling of the aftermath of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg visited the company’s 767 and 777/777X project factory in Everett, Washington, USA on August 16, 2024.
Boeing | Marianne Lockhart | via Reuters
Calhoun was succeeded in August by Kelly Ortberg, a 30-year aerospace veteran and former CEO of Rockwell Collins , Boeing called him back from retirement in Florida to stabilize the company.
During the strike that ended last month, Ortberg announced thousands of layoffs and cost cuts elsewhere to conserve cash while Boeing worked to stabilize production.
Starbucks
As sales shrink in its largest market, Starbucks poached Chipotle Mexican BBQ Star chief executive Brian Niccol turned around the coffee chain’s fortunes when he succeeded Laxman Narasimhan. After Nicol’s appointment was announced in August, the company’s share price soared nearly 25%.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccols was interviewed by CNBC on October 31, 2024.
CNBC
Within his first 100 days on the job, he announced plans to take the company “back to Starbucks” and refocus on what drew customers to the coffee chain in the first place. Early stages of the strategy include making coffee shops more popular, cutting lengthy menus and speeding up service.
Meanwhile, Chipotle in November named insider and industry veteran Scott Boatwright to take the helm of the Mexican food chain.
Nike
The shoemaker replaces chief executive John Donahoe In September, I worked with Elliott Hill, a company veteran who worked as an intern at Nike in the 1980s.
Donahue helped Nike grow sales from $39.1 billion in fiscal 2019 to $51.4 billion in fiscal 2024 since taking the helm, but growth eventually stalled after he left wholesale partners such as Foot Locker. macy’s department storeand neglected innovation.
Peloton
A pandemic darling, the home fitness equipment company has struggled since return-to-work orders began.
In 2022, Peloton brings in former Spotify and Netflix executives Barry McCarthy replaced founder John Foley, but he resigned in May after the company announced another restructuring.
In October, Peloton announced former player Peter Stern Ford administrative staff and apple Co-founder of Fitness+ and serves as its third CEO. Stern has a background in growing subscription services, and Wall Street hopes he can make Peloton profitable by cutting costs and focusing on high-margin subscription revenue.
Kohl’s
Aerial view of a customer walking past a Kohl’s store on November 26, 2024 in San Rafael, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Kohl’s The off-trade department store said late last month that CEO Tom Kingsbury would resign on January 15 and that he would be replaced by Ashley Buchanan of artisanal mecca Michaels .
Kohl’s’ comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, have declined in each of the last 11 quarters, and its stock price has plummeted.
world international
The weight-loss company, formerly known as Weight Watchers, announced in September that Chief Executive Sima Sistani would resign immediately.
WW International is in a tough spot, with its stock price down more than 80% this year. During Sistani’s tenure, it tired of repositioning itself to build a platform that connects customers to popular ones. Weight loss pills.
—CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge and Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.