The average age of CEOs rose 4 percent in the last decade — with 50 CEOs in the S&P 500 aged 65 years or older — drawing attention to the need for companies to increase transparency surrounding executive health, according to Bloomberg.
Though no executives like to consider the possibility of their unexpected death, such an occurrence could throw an organization into chaos if there is no clear succession plan in place. Davia Temin, president and CEO of the crisis management firm Temin and Co., believes the passion executives have for their jobs can sometimes actually hurt succession planning for organizations if they do not consider unsavory possibilities.
"What we're facing is the new paradigm of work," Ms. Temin told Bloomberg. "When people are in the zone of what they love to do, most of them are not going to voluntarily give that up. That means that people will work later, and maybe with a little bit more of an illusion that death won't apply to them."
Though the Securities Exchange Commission hasn't taken action to change rules that would force executives to disclose their health information to investors, companies may move to change their own policies to more effectively craft succession plans.