CEO & CFO Turnover Comparisons for 2005, 2006 & 2007

Liberum Research has found that corporate management turnover in 2007 was slightly below the record levels registered for 2006 but remained very high and was far above the numbers recorded in 2005. 2007 CEO, CFO and C-level turnover totals registered an overall decline of 5%, 2% and 2% respectively from that of 2006. The actual CEO and CFO changes for 2007 overall, however, were far more "significant" and in many cases were far more high-profile for the companies involved than were those registered in 2006.

2007 turnover data began to trend upwards after the first quarter of 2007 concluded. The first quarter of 2007 recorded dramatic declines from the same quarter in 2006. CEO turnover declined 17%, CFO turnover declined 22% and overall C-level management declined 15% in the first quarter of 2007 as compared with the same categories in 2006. The last three quarters of 2007, however, trended upward and are expected to continue at a high level into 2008. Each of the last three quarters showed a similar pattern in overall management changes with the record level of turnover recorded during 2006. Turnover totals for the last three quarters of 2007 were nearly the same as those in 2006 (see the graphs below).

Red Bar 2005
Blue Bar 2006
Green Bar 2007

Red Bar 2005
Blue Bar 2006
Green Bar 2007

Red Bar 2005
Blue Bar 2006
Green Bar 2007

Liberum expects the overall level of management change to continue to remain high as we move through the winter. Liberum's research anticipates the credit crisis to continue to have an impact on CEO and CFO turnover for the next few months and potentially beyond.