Hospitals reported 68 CEO exits through the first half of 2025 — a 3% increase from 66 recorded through June 2024.
The finding is from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ July 28 report examining CEO turnover in the U.S.
Five things to know:
1. Seventeen of the 68 CEO exits that hospitals reported through June 2025 occurred in June. This compares to five in May 2025 and 16 in June 2024.
2. Across 29 industries and sectors, 1,235 CEOs departed through the first half of 2025, up 12% from the 1,101 CEO exits from the same period last year. This is the highest year-to-date total since the firm began tracking CEO exits in 2002, according to Challenger.
3. In June 2025, specifically, 207 CEO exits were reported across industries — a 23% increase from 168 in May 2025, and a 12% decrease from 234 CEO exits that occurred in June 2024.
4. The latest Challenger report comes as the firm is also tracking companies’ reliance on interim leadership. Through the first half of 2025, 15.9% of new CEOs have been appointed on an interim basis, an increase from 9% during the same period in 2024 and 2023, according to the firm. More than half (53%) of the interim leaders chosen were selected from within the organization, and 47% came from another organization.
5. In healthcare, interim leaders have increasingly transitioned into permanent roles, Adam Burns, interim leadership principal at executive search firm WittKieffer, told Becker’s last year. Mr. Burns cited financial challenges as a possible driver of the trend.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Aug. 29.
