The New CEO Equation: Why Leadership Longevity Demands More Than Ever Before
By Nexus Editorial Team
In a year that shattered records for CEO departures, the question isn’t just why so many top leaders are leaving—it’s why fewer are stepping up to take their place.
According to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a staggering 1,991 CEOs exited their posts in 2024, the highest number ever recorded and a 16% increase from the year prior. Simultaneously, a growing number of top-tier candidates are declining CEO roles outright, despite pay packages that average $16.3 million. The executive chair no longer carries the appeal it once did—and in some cases, it looks more like a bullseye than a throne.
At Nexus Search Partners, we’re not surprised. We’ve walked in our clients’ shoes, and we’ve seen this coming.
Why the CEO Role Is Reaching a Breaking Point
In the post-pandemic era, CEOs are asked to be both visionaries and firefighters—responding to geopolitical upheaval, employee activism, generative AI, activist investors, and unpredictable market cycles, often simultaneously.
What’s changed?
Tenure is shrinking. The average CEO tenure dropped from 10.8 years in 2015 to 7.2 years in 2024, as reported in The Breaking Point.
Confidence is wavering. 71% of U.S. CEOs report experiencing “imposter syndrome,” according to the same report.
Candidate hesitation is real. Fortune notes that even with $16.3 million average compensation, many top-tier candidates are declining CEO roles due to cultural pressure, public scrutiny, and personal safety concerns.
Boards are hedging bets. In 2024, 13% of CEO appointments were interim—up from 7% in 2023. Among women CEOs, 15% were interim placements, as reported by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
These aren’t isolated signals. They’re structural red flags that the traditional CEO model—and the processes that sustain it—are overdue for transformation.
Boards Are Seeking Fit. Candidates Are Seeking Trust.
Boards want leaders who can deliver results without disrupting culture, communicate with stakeholders across the political spectrum, and adopt emerging technologies without alienating legacy teams. Meanwhile, candidates are no longer simply weighing salary packages—they’re evaluating cultural readiness, board alignment, and whether they'll be empowered or second-guessed.
We’ve heard the questions behind closed doors:
“Will I be allowed to lead, or just held responsible?”
“Is the board aligned on what success looks like?”
“Do they want transformation—or permission for the status quo?”
This gap between expectation and reality is where most search firms falter. That’s where Nexus leans in.
Our Approach: Build for Endurance, Not Just Fit
Nexus was founded on the principle that search is not a transaction—it’s a transformation. We combine executive search with cultural assessment, post-placement coaching, and strategic advisory to ensure long-term fit and performance. Our framework enables us to partner with boards and PE firms not just to fill roles, but to future-proof them.
Because in this environment, the success of a CEO isn’t determined at hire—it’s shaped in the first 18 months.
We assess not only the candidate’s competencies but also the leadership team they’ll inherit, the cultural context they’ll enter, and the operational dynamics that may support—or sabotage—them. This is especially critical in private equity environments where execution speed is essential, and turnover is costly.
The Stakes Are Too High for Misalignment
Let’s be clear: a failed CEO hire doesn’t just stall progress—it erodes trust, burns capital, and demoralizes teams. And while compensation might attract attention, it no longer guarantees retention.
What’s needed now is a new CEO equation. One that blends strategic rigor with human insight. One that recognizes that leadership longevity is not about surviving the role, but being equipped to evolve within it.
What Forward-Thinking Organizations Must Do Now
Redefine Readiness. Prioritize leaders with adaptive intelligence, not just track records.
Invest in Integration. Support new leaders with coaching, stakeholder alignment, and onboarding that goes beyond logistics.
Challenge the Myth of the “Ready Now” CEO. The best leaders today are learners first—and their growth curve must be supported, not judged.
Treat leadership as an ecosystem. Don’t just assess the CEO. Assess the team they’re leading and the culture they’re walking into.
Leadership Still Matters. But It Must Be Supported Differently.
At Nexus, we believe leadership is still the most important investment an organization can make. But the cost of doing it wrong has never been higher. As more CEOs hit their breaking point—or avoid the role altogether—the firms that will thrive are those that build leadership readiness into their search, not just candidate evaluation.
We’ve built our entire model around that belief.
So if your board is asking, “Where are the leaders who can thrive in this era?”—we’d argue they’re out there. But they’re only stepping forward when the conditions are right.
We help make those conditions possible.
Let’s build leadership longevity—intentionally.