You’re fired! Record number of companies are ditching old CEOs for younger (and cheaper) execs

Businesses forced into ‘grand experiment in leadership’ in response to shifting market pressures MoneyYou’re fired! Record number of companies are ditching old CEOs for younger (and cheaper) execsBusinesses forced into ‘grand experiment in leadership’ in response to shifting market pressuresJoe Sommerlad Monday 16 February 2026 16:02 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverFinancial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin predicts inevitable Wall Street crashYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. 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We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreThe largest public companies in the U.S. are currently switching CEOs at a record pace, with many favoring younger, less experienced, and less expensive appointees over older heads, according to new research.Roughly one in nine corporate CEOs were replaced at 1,500 of the biggest publicly-traded businesses over the course of 2025, the highest rate of turnover since 2010 when the economy was recovering from the previous year’s financial crash, The Wall Street Journal reports. Citing analysis from a report by the executive-recruiting firm Spencer Stuart, the newspaper notes that, in the final quarter of last year alone, companies with a combined market capitalization of $1.3 trillion put new faces in charge, with Verizon and Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, among those opting for new executive leadership.That trend has continued into 2026, with Walmart, Procter & Gamble and Lululemon among the companies that have moved quickly to make a change at the top already this year. Already in February, Disney, HP, and PayPal moved to unveil new bosses on the same day – announcements that were swiftly followed by the news that Greg Foran would be taking over the hot seat at the grocery giant Kroger.open image in galleryWalmart is just one of the major publicly-trade companies to have switched its CEO of late, responding to an ever more complicated landscape (Getty/iStock)Businesses currently seeking new CEOs this quarter, or resigned to losing their existing executives, have a combined value of $2.2 trillion, the WSJ reports.Spencer Stuart’s findings suggest that incumbent CEOs are stepping down sooner than in the past and that their replacements are younger than before, with the average age at 54, down from 56 a year previously.More than 80 percent of the 168 people appointed to chief executive positions in 2025 were first-timers who had no prior experience running public companies or major stand-alone enterprises. Two-thirds of that total had never even served on a corporate board.An emblematic example of the trend towards youth is Paul Shoukry, the recently appointed head of the financial services firm Raymond James, who is 42, while his predecessor, Paul Reilly, was 55 when he first took the job in 2010.Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTGet a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTDisney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro, 55, is also consideredably younger than the outgoing Bob Iger, who is 75. However, like Shoukry, the new man has considerable experience within the company, having led its $36bn theme-park and cruise unit.That said, although 3 percent of CEOs at top companies are now aged under 40, according to Spencer Stuart’s data, one is still much more likely to encounter an executive aged between 50 and 59 (64 percent) or over 60 (12 percent).“Younger makes sense to me, given the changes in the world,” said Cindie Jamison, a longtime turnaround executive, of the downward trend. “Things are shifting and changing very dramatically and permanently and you want people who’ve been in the trenches facing these decisions.”open image in galleryBob Iger has recently stepped down as CEO of Disney, making way for the younger Josh D’Amaro (AP)The situation remains uninspiring for women, however, with just nine percent of new appointees to CEO positions female, down from 15 percent a year earlier.The WSJ characterizes the changes in hiring practices as “a grand experiment in leadership” in response to a dramatically shifting global lan