Eighty-five hospital CEOs exited their roles in the first 10 months of this year, down 10.5 percent from the 95 chiefs who stepped down from their positions in the same period of 2021, according to a Nov. 17 report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement and coaching firm.
Hospitals announced three CEO changes in October, five in September and 16 in October 2021. Across all industries, 71 CEOs exited their roles in October, down 50 percent from the 142 chiefs who stepped down from their positions in the same month last year. U.S. companies announced 74 CEO exits in September.
"Job cut announcements are rising and hiring plans have slowed as we conclude 2022," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The technology sector is seeing the bulk of these layoffs, and it is also where we are seeing a lot of CEO changes, but generally speaking, companies are holding onto their leaders."
Across all industries, the number of women ascending to the CEO role through October this year is also slightly less than the same period last year, according to Challenger. A total of 26.1 percent of new CEOs were women or nonbinary through October this year, compared to 26.87 percent of new CEOs who were women through the same period of 2021.