CEO turnover is creating a bigger business for search firms

Boards are replacing CEOs faster than at any point in two decades, and the scramble is triggering broader C-suite turnover that executive search firms can capture before a formal search even starts. The shift is also pushing firms toward retainer-style advisory work, succession intelligence and year-round relationship management.

Why it matters: - CEO churn is rising fast, and each leadership change can trigger multiple downstream moves across the C-suite. - Search firms that track succession risk and keep clients engaged between searches can win more work before vacancies open. - The shift favors firms that sell ongoing advisory services, not just one-off placements.

What happened: - Global CEO departures reached 234 in 2025, the highest level Russell Reynolds has tracked in eight years. - That total was up 16% from 2024 and 21% above the eight-year average. - Average global CEO tenure fell to 7.1 years in 2025 from 8.3 years in 2021. - The share of CEOs leaving within 30 to 36 months of appointment rose 79% year over year. - Activist campaigns hit 255 globally in 2025, also a record. - U.S. activist campaigns totaled 141, up 23% year over year. - Thirty-two CEOs resigned within a year of an activist campaign, 60% above the four-year average. - Eighteen percent of U.S. activist campaigns in 2025 followed a CEO resignation directly, 38% above the prior four-year average. - Boards now tend to assess new CEOs much sooner than they did a decade ago.

The details: - Chief marketing officer tenure at S&P 500 companies fell to about four years from 4.3 years in 2024. - In high-growth and private tech firms, CMO tenure can fall to about 18 months. - Only 21% of organizations have a formal CEO succession plan. - Among large U.S. and Canadian companies, 37% do regular, formal succession planning at the CEO or direct-report level. - More than half of those plans include fewer than two candidates. - Most boards begin serious succession talks 12 to 18 months before a transition. - Only 8% plan five years or more ahead. - Nearly half of private company directors say their board would be unprepared to name a successor if the CEO left tomorrow. - In executive search, recruiters often stay in touch between engagements, track client org changes and keep informal readiness lists without charging separately for that work. - Many search firms still organize around filling vacancies one at a time, leaving adjacent advisory work unbilled. - Greg Foran became Kroger's CEO in February 2026 after a search that followed Rodney McMullen's sudden resignation in early 2025 amid a board inquiry. - Within months of Foran's arrival, four senior executives left Kroger: the chief associate experience officer, the senior vice president of retail divisions, the global vice president of Kroger's capability center and another senior vice president of retail divisions who became chief operating officer at another company. - One board decision led to at least five executive transitions, including the CEO role, in 18 months. - In most cases, new CEOs reshuffle their management teams within two years. - External CEO hires nearly doubled as a share of incoming S&P 500 CEOs in 2025, reaching the highest external-hire rate in eight years. - Internal promotions fell below 70% of CEO appointments for the first time in eight years. - Korn Ferry's recurring digital revenue, from talent analytics, psychometric assessment and succession planning tools, is about 35% of total fee revenue and is growing about 11% annually. - More than 83% of Korn Ferry's fiscal 2025 assignments came from clients served within the prior three years. - Heidrick & Struggles posted consulting revenue growth of 16.6% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, faster than its core search revenue growth in the same period. - Both firms run those services alongside core search rather than as replacements for it. - Executive search relationships are often tied to individual recruiters, not the firm, which can cause client context to leave when a recruiter departs.

Between the lines: - The market is moving from episodic hiring to ongoing succession management. - Boards, activists and faster business cycles are shortening the time companies have to spot leadership risk. - Search firms that do not package relationship continuity and succession intelligence may leave revenue on the table. - The strongest competitive edge may come from being useful before a job opening exists.

What's next: - More firms are likely to test succession-intelligence retainers, standing advisory fees and separate consulting engagements. - Tracking activist filings, M&A announcements and leadership changes can become a more formal business-development system. - Firms that build durable client relationships between searches may capture more of the value created by CEO turnover. - The overall turnover backdrop may fluctuate, but the article argues the structural pressure on boards is not going away.

The bottom line: - CEO turnover is no longer just a search problem at the point of vacancy. It is becoming a year-round advisory opportunity for firms that can predict, retain and shape the next leadership move.