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Published by: Maya Imberg
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CEO and CFO Turnover in the UK

Published by: Maya Imberg
Published on:
Explore the changes in leadership appointments and exits over the last 5 years.

Introducing 2023 Spotlight: CEO and CFO Turnover in the UK, a report which examines changes in leadership appointments and exits over the last 5 years. To provide insight into CEO and CFO turnover trends and patterns, Altrata launched a new report which examines the leadership landscape at the UK’s largest public companies.

Among the numerous insights, 2023 Spotlight: CEO and CFO Turnover in the UK finds that female CFO appointments have tripled since 2018 to reach 36% in 2022. While the overall percentage remains disproportionate given the size of the executive female workforce, this increase can be seen as positive at a time when the CFO role is enjoying increasing strategic influence.

The report also points out that CEO turnover rose to 12.7% in 2022, the highest its been in the past 3 years. The turnover rate reached a high of almost 20% in 2019 before falling to an annual average of just over 8% in 2020-21. The fact that the turnover rate started to move upward again in 2022 likely indicates that boards persuaded experienced CEOs, who were looking to retire.

Other findings include:

  • CFO turnover declined for a third straight year in 2022 to 13.8%.
  • CEOs and CFOs typically stay in post for four years
  • The age at which CEOs and CFOs are appointed is now in the low 50s
  • Female CEO appointments remain much lower at 8-9%

With increasing turnover rates and significant shifts in demographics, the business landscape is rapidly evolving. 2023 Spotlight: UK CEO and CFO Turnover is crucial for executives and professionals who want to stay ahead of the curve and make informed decisions about leadership appointments.

This report leverages BoardEx’s unique and proprietary Global Leadership Database, which covers board and non-board members, C-suite executives, senior leaders and professional advisers. The database contains more than 2 million profiles of public, private and not-for-profit organizations and the 1.6 million people who work for them.


Maya Imberg is the Head of Thought Leadership and Analytics at Altrata. She is responsible for spearheading the company’s thought leadership efforts and overseeing its analytics and predictive modeling services commissioned by clients. She joined Wealth-X in 2016 as Director of Custom Research responsible for secondary research, data analytics and branded content. Maya has over fifteen years of experience in research, spanning market research, macroeconomics and financial services. Prior to joining Wealth-X, Maya held a variety of consultant and economist roles at the Economist Intelligence Unit and spent a number of years working for Datamonitor’s Financial Services practice. Maya holds an undergraduate and MSc degree in economics and comparative politics from the University of Pennsylvania and London School of Economics respectively.