Global CEO Departures Fall to Nine-Year Low in First Half of 2026, Russell Reynolds Finds

CEO departures across several of the world’s largest stock indices fell to their lowest first-half total in nine years of tracking, according to a Global CEO Turnover Index published on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance on 13 August 2026. Researchers Rusty O’Kelley and Emma Combe of Russell Reynolds Associates found that 101 chief executives left their roles in the first half of 2026, down from 118 in the same period of 2025.

New CEO appointments held broadly steady at 131 positions, close to the historical average tracked by the index across the S&P 500, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 and ASX 200. The report notes that departures fell in most of the major markets it covers, including a drop from 30 to 19 on Japan’s Nikkei 225 and from 36 to 30 on the S&P 500.

Boards are promoting from inside

According to the report, 88% of incoming S&P 500 chief executives in the first half of 2026 were internal appointments, the highest share the index has recorded for a first half. At the same time, external CEO hires who already had public-company leadership experience reached an all-time high of 23% of appointments, suggesting boards are combining a preference for known quantities with reduced appetite for first-time, unproven leaders.

Longer tenures, more women appointed

The average tenure of a departing CEO rose to nine years, up from 6.6 years in the prior comparison period, the report found. Women accounted for 16% of global CEO appointments tracked by the index, the highest share on record, though the researchers noted that gap still leaves women under-represented at the top of major US and UK-listed companies relative to the wider workforce.

Why It Matters

CEO turnover is one of the clearest signals of how confident boards feel about their own strategy. Falling departures and rising internal promotions suggest many boards are choosing continuity over disruption after several turbulent years of activist pressure and rapid technological change, a shift that affects everything from succession planning to how quickly companies can pivot when markets shift.