Succession

What the publications show

1. Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds Associates report record CEO turnover in 2025, for the second year running. Average tenure fell to 7.1 years, and 84 to 86 per cent of new CEOs are in the role for the first time.

   Spencer Stuart, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Russell Reynolds Associates, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, 2026 (opens in a new window)

2. Two studies of US listed companies find that boards facing poor results rely on simple cues: extraverted CEOs are dismissed sooner (University of Groningen), and an award for a rival company’s CEO makes dismissal more likely (Texas A&M).

   University of Groningen, 2026 (opens in a new window) · Texas A&M University, 2026 (opens in a new window)

3. Strategic change increases the likelihood that a new CEO is dismissed early (Santa Clara University). Interim CEOs who follow a dismissal for poor performance, by contrast, carry out more strategic change than permanent CEOs (University of Northern Iowa).

   Santa Clara University, 2026 (opens in a new window) · University of Northern Iowa, 2026 (opens in a new window)

4. DDI reports that only one in five HR professionals has confidence in their organisation’s own leadership succession. A small interview study by Concordia University shows that Gen Z repeatedly reconsiders a management role based on their own perceived competence.

   DDI, 2025 (opens in a new window) · Concordia University Wisconsin, 2026 (opens in a new window)

Topics within succession

This list shows what the publications on this theme are about, with the number for each topic. Open a topic to see its publications; if a topic has a briefing, the link is underneath.

• CEO turnover and tenure3 publications

  • 2025 S&P 1500 CEO Transitions: Behind the CEO Moment · Spencer Stuart, 2026
  • Global CEO Turnover Index Report 2025: Shorter Runways, Higher Stakes · Russell Reynolds Associates, 2026
  • Consumers Cutback, CEOs Depart, and Boards Act · Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, 2026
  Briefing: CEO turnover, tenure and the first-time CEO →
• Dismissal by the board3 publications

  • The Price of Prominence: How CEO Extraversion Influences Board Attributions and the Dismissal‐Performance Sensitivity · University of Groningen, 2026
  • How Boards Use Competitor CEO Awards to Interpret Firm Performance in CEO Dismissal Decisions · Texas A&M University, 2026
  • Mandated to Change, Pressured to Survive: How Newly Appointed CEOs Use Resonance to Manage Strategic Change–Early Survival Dilemma · Santa Clara University, 2026
• New and interim CEOs2 publications

  • Mandated to Change, Pressured to Survive: How Newly Appointed CEOs Use Resonance to Manage Strategic Change–Early Survival Dilemma · Santa Clara University, 2026
  • Caretakers or change agents? How predecessor dismissal for poor performance shapes interim CEO leadership · University of Northern Iowa, 2026
• Succession pipeline2 publications

  • Global Leadership Forecast 2025 · DDI, 2025
  • “Can I and do I want to?”: How Generation Z employees evaluate managerial roles · Concordia University Wisconsin, 2026

Briefings on this theme

Where several organisations publish roughly the same thing on a topic, we have used AI to compile a briefing. Click a card for the key point, the figures with their sources and what it means for the leadership team.

Briefings on other themes that touch on this one

These briefings belong to another theme but also cover succession.