CEO turnover quieted down in December following what appeared to be an uptick in exits.
Hospital CEO exits fell at the end of 2022 following an overall trend across all U.S. sectors, according to the a new report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
In December 2022, only six hospital CEOs made role changes, including retiring from their position or leaving to serve in a new role, slowing down what seemed like an end-of-the-year uptick in exits.
"The pandemic changed how many hospitals and healthcare companies operated," Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. said in a statement. "The industry was plagued by staffing issues and burnout at all levels."
While the hospital and healthcare sector continues to be plagued by these issues, and CEOs announce their intent to retire or leave to fill new positions, there wasn't a staggering amount of hospital CEO exits made during 2022. In total, 103 hospital CEOs made exits during the year, a decline from the 112 that made exits in 2021.
And while the hospital and healthcare sectors were among the leading sectors with CEO turnover in the months leading up to the end of the year, the government and nonprofit sector led turnover with 271 CEOs making exits, while the technology sector saw 137 CEOs make changes during the year.
According to the report, CEO turnover across all US companies rose 5% from 95 in November to 100 in December 2022. This brings December's turnover rate down 6% from the 106 CEOs who made exits in December 2021.
Overall, companies across the sector announced 1,235 CEO exits in 2022, which is down 8% from the 1,337 that was tracked in 2021. This is the lowest annual turnover rate since 2017, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports.
"Companies appear to be holding steady with their leadership after years of leadership changes and unprecedented uncertainty," Challenger said in a statement.
Melanie Blackman is a contributing editor for strategy, marketing, and human resources at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.