Strategy&’s 15th annual study of CEOs, Governance, and Success highlights the changes at the top of the world’s largest 2,500 public companies and what those changes tell us about what companies are looking for in their CEOs.
2. Strategy&
• This is the 15th year Strategy& has examined CEO successions
and success among the world’s largest 2,500 public companies
• This year’s study looks at trends in CEO successions across
regions, industries, insiders/outsiders, and gender (among other
analyses)…
• … and looks in depth at the value of getting CEO succession right
• The "global CEO" seems to be a rarity at the world's largest
companies, which continue to hire CEOs who are familiar to
them
2014 study of CEOs, Governance, and Success
3. Strategy&
In 2014, there were 357 CEO turnovers among the
world’s top 2,500 largest public companies
Total turnover rate in 2014 was very close to 2013 , but had
the highest ever number of planned turnovers
Source: Strategy& analysis
Note: All figures may not add to totals because of rounding
CEO succession reasons as a percentage of turnover events
2010 - 2014
66% 69% 72% 71% 78%
19% 15%
18% 19%
13%
15% 16% 10% 10% 9%
2011
354
2010
290
2014
357
2013
355
2012
375
Planned
M&A
Forced
4. Strategy&
A total of 17 women were incoming CEOs representing
a share of 5.2% - a new high over the last 5 years
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
5.0
0.0%
4.0
2.0%
1.0%
6.0
3.0%
5.2%
3.1%
4.3%
2.6%
4.0%
Share of incoming women CEOs
2010-2014
Source: Strategy& analysis
By 2040, we expect a third of all incoming CEOs to be women
5. Strategy&
• 78% were company insiders
• 85% came from the same region as the company headquarters
• 67% had only worked in the same region as the company headquarters
• 57% joined from the same industry
The world’s largest companies hired CEOs who they
were familiar with
78% 87%
73%
92%
59%
92%
58%
77%
22% 27%
41% 42%
23%13%
Brazil,
Russia, India
1226
Other mature1)
8%
China
294 30
Other emerging2)Japan
25
8%
Western Europe
60
U.S., Canada
92
Global
49
Insider
Outsider
Source: Strategy& analysis
1) "Other mature" economies include Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, etc.
2) “Other emerging" economies include Egypt, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, etc.
Note 1: "Mature" countries are defined as per the U.N. Development Programme 2013 ranking of countries with "very high human development" (human development index >0.80); all
others are "emerging“ countries.
Note 2: Exhibit excludes turnover events resulting from M&A, interims, and events with incomplete turnover information.
Incoming CEO insider vs. outsider status by company headquarters
region
2014
6. Strategy&
And companies in almost all other industries hired
new CEOs from the financials industry
Source: Strategy& analysis
1) Exhibit shows incoming CEOs who joined their company as CEO or joined it earlier, broken down by what industry they worked in immediately before joining the current company;
data is not exhaustive. Incoming CEOs who worked at the same company their entire career are excluded.
2) "Consumer discretionary" includes automobiles and components, consumer durables and apparel, consumer services, media, and retailing.
Note 1: Exhibit excludes turnover events resulting from M&A, interims, and events with incomplete turnover information.
Note 2: These figures may differ from those reported in earlier years because companies in the healthcare industry are now reported separately.
7%
9%
0%
7%
16%
25%
12%
14%
All Industries
205
5%
5%
Information technology
Energy
Telecommunications services
Materials
Utilities
Healthcare
Financials
Industrials
Consumer staples
Consumer discretionary2)
Incoming CEOs by prior industry1)
2014
7. Strategy&
The median age for an incoming CEO was 52 and only
34% had an MBA
Source: Strategy& analysis
1) "Other mature" economies include Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, etc.
2) “Other emerging" economies include Egypt, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, etc.
Note 1: "Mature" countries are defined as per the U.N. Development Programme 2013 ranking of countries with "very high human development" (human development index >0.80); all
others are "emerging" countries.
Note 2: Exhibit excludes turnover events resulting from M&A, interims, and events with incomplete turnover information.
50
57
52
55
62
515252
40
45
50
55
60
65
China Other
emerging2)
Brazil,
Russia,
India
Years
Other
mature1)
JapanWestern
Europe
U.S.,
Canada
Global Undegraduate
272
0.7%
99.3%
MBA
274
66%
34%
Ph.D.
275
89.5%
10.5%
No
Yes
Incoming CEO median age by company
headquarters region
2014
Incoming CEOs with and
without selected degrees
2014
8. Strategy&
To learn more, including
how companies can
improve their CEO
succession planning,
please visit:
http://www.strategyand.p
wc.com/chief-executive-
study