A new report from The Conference Board, a New York City-based business research association, shows many older CEOs left their roles as heads of S&P 500 companies in the years after the financial crisis. Now, this trend is leveling out, indicating a 'generational overhaul' in C-suites throughout the U.S., according to The Washington Post.
Here are four things to know about the report's findings.
- From 2009 to 2014, a quarter of S&P 500 CEOs age 64 and older left their jobs, compared to just 8 percent of younger CEOs. These figures include both retirements and forced exits, according to The Washington Post.
- Researchers note this gap was much larger after the financial crisis than in the eight years before it, according to the report. From 2001 to 2008, the average CEO turnover percentage was 16 percent for older leaders and 11 percent for younger CEOs.
- In 2015, the turnover gap between older and younger CEOs decreased considerably, according to Matteo Tonello, a managing director at The Conference Board.
- Mr. Tonello said it's difficult to deduce exactly why companies made this shift. However, given its timing in relation to the financial crisis, he believes boards may have felt pressure to hire a younger generation of leaders to switch up their strategy, according to the report.
"Over the course of a few years you practically have an entire generation of CEOs exiting the S&P 500," he said. "The financial crisis gave an opportunity to boards to refresh their management suites."
More articles on leadership:
Trump: 'It's over for Obamacare'
5% of Tennessee healthcare companies led by women
6 questions with new Intermountain Healthcare CEO Dr. A. Marc Harrison