CEO Trends
Record number of CEOs reached retirement age
• In 2017, nearly 17% of sitting CEOs reached retirement age (64 or older). That's the highest rate since we began tracking successions.
Outsider CEOs gained steam
• Outsiders filled around 44% of vacancies. In both 2015 and 2016, they filled about 14%.
The best CEOs left less often
• The CEO succession rate at better-performing companies declined to about 7%, the lowest since 2002. This likely reflects pressure that new regulations and shareholders are putting on companies.
(Source: CEO Succession Practices: 2018 Edition. The Conference Board and Heidrick & Struggles)
Are companies dropping the reputation ball?
Roughly half of CEOs and board members acknowledge that their organizations lack the ability to identify reputation impacting events, analyze risks, and forecast impacts on brand and reputation. Separately, 59% of leaders lack a plan to develop or acquire tools to address reputation risks.
(Source: “Illuminating a path forward on strategic risk,” Deloitte)
Independent board leadership
In a review of S&P 1500 companies, independent board chairs have been experiencing the fastest increase since 2000. The study also found that women are less likely to be a board leader.
(Source: “Today's independent board leadership landscape,” EY Center for Board Matters)
Cybersecurity & Risk
In the “Cybersecurity Disclosure Benchmarking” report, EY's Center for Board Matters took a look at the risk and strategy behind voluntary cybersecurity statements from Fortune 100 companies. Of those companies:
