More CEOs Being Forced Out
There were 253 changes in chief executive, up from 231 in 2001. Of these, 39% were pushed out for performance-related reasons, up from 25% in the previous year – the highest level in the five years of the Booz Allen Hamilton study, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Among the most high-profile chief executive ousters:
- Bernard Ebbers – WorldCom Inc.
- Jean-Marie Messier – Vivendi Universal SA
- Ron Sommer – Deutsche Telekom AG
- Nobuya Minami – Tokyo Electric Power Co.
- Philippe Paillert – Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings
- Joseph Nacchio – Qwest Communications International Inc.
The study of 2,500 large global companies reveals the percentage of forced departures in the US hit a new high of 40%, double the 20% of 2001, while in Europe, 36% of all CEOs who left were forced out, down from 43% for 2001. The sharpest increase in forced ousters was reported in Japan, where 35% of all CEOs who left last year were forced out. During 2001, forced departures accounted for just 7.3% of all CEO turnover there.