If it feels like CEOs are currently being swapped out at high-profile companies more frequently than usual, that observation is not unfounded. According to a new report from executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2024 has seen a 50% CEO turnover increase at the top of the ladder, with notable examples including Boeing’s Dave Calhoun and Starbucks’ Laxman Narasimhan.
Leadership changes can cause trepidation among workers, but these transitions provide opportunities for successors to transform operations, address company culture, and foster extraordinary workplaces. With that in mind, this leadership roundup includes appearances from Boeing and Starbucks’ new CEOs:
- Incoming Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has only been on the job for a few weeks and announced that he is “committed to reset” relations with the International Association of Machinists union. This move arrives ahead of September’s “final phase” contract negotiations involving 33,000+ workers, for which the Machinists signaled that they would not budge on wages after members authorized a strike. Ortberg further expressed hopes for “a new contract where we can come together to build a strong future for our employees.”
- Ozempic producer Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen spoke about the importance of lowering employee stress to foster a fruitful environment. This declaration followed the company’s annual report, which included anonymous survey results stating that 14% of Novo Nordisk workers feel overwhelmed at work. Jørgensen calls this an unsustainable figure, and he tasked managers with being able to “run an area without high-stress levels.” He also aims to deploy “local action plans” to alleviate potential issues at department levels.
- Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is traveling from his Portugal home to Detroit for meetings about revamping North American operations after a 40% drop in operating income for first-half results. Tavaras prefaced this visit by taking responsibility with investors, telling the group that he failed by not acting sooner: “We were arrogant,” but “I’m talking about myself, nobody else.” The CEO shuttered his vacation plans to address the subject amid chatter that the UAW could strike at an Illinois plant over production drops. Tavares’ impending physical presence presumably signals that he is taking the company’s emphasis on collaboration to heart.
- Starbucks’ SEC filing of new CEO Brian Niccol’s offer letter revealed that he would work a hybrid work schedule and commute from his California home to Seattle headquarters, where he will be present three days per week when not traveling for work. Harvard Business School professor Raj Choudhury calls this an opportunity for Starbucks to offer corporate workers flexibility in work schedules. Remote work or not, Niccol is the outgoing CEO of Chipotle, where he has been credited for doubling revenue and increasing stock price by over 700% since 2018.
Also, this week, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt apologized after coming under fire for blaming a hybrid work policy for Google’s hiccups in AI technology. He told the Wall Street Journal that he “misspoke about Google and their work hours” and “regret[s] my error.” Former CEOs’ words matter, too, and no matter the issue, workers everywhere are listening.
