Twelve hospital CEOs exited their roles in January, double the number who stepped down from their positions in the same month a year earlier, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement and coaching firm.
In January, 125 CEOs of U.S.-based companies left their posts, up from 89 in the same month a year earlier.
Hospitals announced 12 CEO exits in January and eight CEO departures in December. Some executives retired, while others stepped down from their posts into C-level roles at other organizations.
"Employers are still very much in retention and hiring mode," Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a Feb. 9 news release. "Meanwhile, leadership challenges have shifted in the face of a pandemic, adaption of new technology, and focus on social change. Leaders need to respond, and in many cases that means a change at the top."
Across all industries, about 27 percent of new CEOs announced in January were women. That's the highest monthly rate since September 2021, when 26.9 percent of new CEOs were women, according to the report.