Job turnover among global public company CFOs picked up considerably in the first quarter of 2024, with 82 new finance chiefs appointed, according to leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds.
That was 10 more than in last year’s first quarter and the most in the period since 2021 when there were 83. That strong activity followed an also fast-faced calendar year 2023 when there were 292 such hires. That made last year the fourth straight of increased CFO appointments.
Russell Reynolds attributed the higher turnover trend primarily to three factors:
- CFOs increasingly being considered as succession candidates for the CEO role.
- CEOs often replace their finance leader within the first year of their tenure.
- Increased retirement rates among CFOs post-pandemic.
Among the 82 appointments in the first quarter, 20 were women. That was also the most since the first quarter of 2021. But women remain under-represented in the role, according to Russell Reynolds. Among the 292 CFO appointments last year, 57, or 20%, were women.
“To build on this progress and achieve true gender balance in the CFO role,” the firm wrote in its study report, “organizations must build robust and diverse internal pipelines and invest in structured sponsorship programs that target underrepresented groups.”
On the plus side, companies in the traditionally male-dominated technology industry were strong in gender diversity, with 38% of incoming CFOs being women.
Women also are doing relatively well among companies in London’s FTSE 100, with 10 appointments in 2023 representing 34% of the total.
Most CFOs appointed in 2023 (59%) landed in that seat for the first time in their careers. In related fashion, 55% were internal appointments. However, there were regional differences: appointments within Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index were 100% internal, while Western indexes had more external appointments.
“For those externally appointed, experienced CFOs have been increasingly favored, as organizations navigate complex economic markets,” Russell Reynolds wrote.
In the technology industry, 6.2% of public companies hired a new CFO in the first quarter, the most for tech since the first quarter of 2022. Three-quarters of those were at S&P 500 companies, “where many are rethinking the growth CFO archetype in favor of CFOs with strategic and operational rigor who can ensure sustainable growth and profitability,” the report said.