CEO turnover is at a two-decade high — and 2025 is barely seven months in
CEO turnover is at a two-decade high — and 2025 is barely seven months in.
By early August, 41 S&P 500 CEOs had already been replaced — nearly matching last year’s full-year total of 49.
Boards are acting faster to remove leaders for:
→ Consistently weak performance
→ Failed strategy
→ Ethics or governance breaches
As Jasper Street’s Peter da Silva Vint put it: “Boards are far more willing to act decisively…to protect shareholders, employees, and public trust.”
That willingness is long overdue. It’s basic governance — and as a group, boards still have a long way to go.
At Eagle Talon, CEO turnover is one of the metrics we track — because it shows what leadership is really made of when the pressure’s on. We want to know:
→ Are they allocating capital in a way that compounds shareholder value?
→ Do they act with integrity and build trust when no one’s watching — knowing the spotlight will eventually shine on results, behavior, and culture?
→ Can they build a team and system that sustains momentum — or will it crack and hasten their exit?
More boards aren’t waiting for results or culture to self-correct. They’re starting to act in ways that actually reflect their duty to shareholders — by more quickly replacing leaders who can’t deliver and can’t be trusted to run the business the right way.
🔗Read the full article: The Most Precarious Job in America’s Boardrooms: CEO
