Call it “the CFO shuffle.” Top finance leaders are shifting from one company or position to another—or opting for retirement—at a faster rate.
That’s according to the latest data from Russell Reynolds Associates, which specializes in executive searches. This year saw increased levels of turnover, with the proportion of outgoing finance chiefs reaching 8.9% globally from January to June.
A total of 163 new CFOs were appointed during that time frame. Companies including 3M, Aramark, Chevron, Costco, Fifth Third Bancorp, Ulta Beauty, Tupperware, and United Parcel Service announced CFO changes.
Several high-profile announcements occurred more recently. Stanford University CFO Randy Livingston confirmed his retirement, after spending 23 years at the university. Tate & Lyle, a $3.4 billion food and beverage distributor in London, named Sarah Kuijlaars CFO effective September 16. Kuijlaars was previously the CFO of the diamond company De Beers Group and luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce.
Jonas Rickberg was appointed CFO at Sweden-based construction firm Skanska Group. And apparel brand Guess revealed that a former CFO, Dennis Secor, returned to the post August 26.
CFO tenures are becoming shorter. Management consultancy Russell Reynolds Associates found that the average tenure of an outgoing CFO has reached a five-year low of 5.7 years. Some 54% of this year’s outgoing CFOs either retired or shifted to an exclusive board role. That’s up 15 percentage points year over year—a five-year high.
Headhunters are also seeking former CFOs to be CEOs. The latest Crist Kolder Associates Volatility Report finds that these promotions are becoming more common.
Certain market-index operators are more likely to promote internal talent to the CFO role. The Nikkei 225, Japan’s leading stock index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng made almost all their appointments internally. In Western indices, external appointments were more common. As for gender parity, women remain underrepresented in the CFO role, with Russell Reynolds reporting that the S&P 500 companies are 40 years away from reaching gender parity. Of the 163 CFOs appointed in 2024, 44 were women. Still, that’s the highest number of women CFO appointments in the past five years.
