The Next CEO

Chapter 1:Looking Beyond the CEO      Chapter 2: Equality At The Top     Chapter 3: Factor 30 is Hotting Up

As a leadership advisory firm focused on shaping what’s next, we at Russell Reynolds Associates have a relentless appetite for new data and insights that give our clients a competitive edge.

This is why we developed the Global CEO Turnover Index, which tracks data from the world’s leading stock indices to determine how many listed company CEOs have left their posts each quarter. Here, in our inaugural Global CEO Turnover Index Annual Report, you’ll find a detailed analysis of key trends in 2023—and what they mean for business in 2024 and beyond.

Chairs and directors consistently tell us that CEO succession is one of the most critical decisions boards can make: getting it wrong can burden a company with a leader who is poorly matched to its culture and strategic priorities, while getting it right can transform a business and unlock huge benefits, not least protection from potentially damaging turnover.

In short, getting succession right can deliver certainty in an uncertain world. As powerful geopolitical and macro-economic forces continue to converge and almost half the world’s population head to the polls, 2024 is set to be another volatile year. Factor in technological disruption and increased investor and regulatory pressures, and it promises to be a year characterized by tension for business in general and CEOs in particular.

This report focuses on three emerging themes that will help shape boards’ approach to CEO succession planning in the year ahead: the changing role of the CEO, demands for gender parity, and increased internal appointments. All of these trends point towards the growing importance of strengthening organizations’ internal leadership pipelines.

Our ambition is that this report can act as an instructive and insightful roadmap for the journey ahead, and that our latest data and expert perspectives help leaders globally proceed with confidence in an ever-changing world. Throughout the year, we will continue to produce our quarterly Global CEO Turnover Index updates to ensure our clients are always one step ahead.

We look forward to working with you in 2024.

Constantine Alexandrakis
CEO, Russell Reynolds Associates