Nearly 2,000 American CEOs Quit in 2024, Setting New Record

Chief executive officers have exited from U.S. companies in 2024 at a greater pace than ever before, with businesses increasingly opting to appoint interim leaders as replacements, according to global outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
As of November, 1,991 CEOs have departed from their companies, “the highest total on record,” according to a Dec. 20 report from the company. “It has surpassed the previous record of 1,914 CEO exits that occurred in all of 2023. It is up 16% from the 1,710 exits that occurred during the same period last year.”
Amid a jump in executive departures, companies were found to be appointing more interim leaders. Last year, interim replacements for CEOs were at seven percent, this year it has gone up to 13 percent….