The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:32:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png Global CEO Turnover Index: Key Trends to the End of Q1 2026 – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 Global CEO Turnover Index: Key Trends to the End of Q1 2026 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/06/17/global-ceo-turnover-index-key-trends-to-the-end-of-q1-2026/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=global-ceo-turnover-index-key-trends-to-the-end-of-q1-2026 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/06/17/global-ceo-turnover-index-key-trends-to-the-end-of-q1-2026/#respond Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:32:12 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=181137?d=20260616151119EDT Posted by Rusty O’Kelley, Laura Sanderson, and Emma Combe, Russell Reynolds Associates, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Editor's Note:

Rusty O’Kelley is a Managing Director, Laura Sanderson is a Senior Member of the Board and CEO Advisory, and Emma Combe leads the UK Board Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates. This post is based on their Russell Reynolds memorandum.

1. Boards showed a stronger preference for experienced CEOs—especially in the S&P 500

The most notable shift in Q1 2026 was the increase in experienced CEO hires. Globally, 26% of incoming CEOs had prior experience of serving as a CEO of a publicly listed company, up from 17% in Q1 2025 and 8% in Q1 2024.

This trend was particularly pronounced in the S&P 500, where 41% of incoming CEOs were experienced CEOs—the highest Q1 level in our nine-year tracking period—up from 25% in Q1 2025 and 9% in Q1 2024. In absolute terms, this equates to nine appointments, compared with five in Q1 2025 and two in Q1 2024.

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