Deloitte’s Center for Board Effectiveness recently issued its report on board governance in 2026.  The report addresses the topics that are likely to be on the agenda for boards during the upcoming year and suggests strategies that help position boards to better address the challenges they face. Board topics identified by Deloitte include economic and geopolitical volatility, AI and emerging tech governance, cybersecurity, and human capital management – particularly CEO succession. Here’s an excerpt from the report’s discussion of that topic:

According to the 2025 Spencer Stuart Board Index, CEO turnover at S&P 500 companies rose nearly 30% from 2024, to 61 new appointments in 2025 from 47 the year before.2 The report indicates many of these appointments involved internal promotions and first-time leaders. It also indicates a slight decrease in average tenure for departing leaders, with approximately one-third serving in their roles for less than five years.

A Russell Reynolds report indicates a trend toward elevated levels of CEO turnover and shortening tenures globally as well. Taken together, these data points indicate an increase in CEO turnover that should prompt boards to evaluate their approach to succession planning and consider whether the board is adequately prepared to deftly manage these changes in leadership at the top of the organization.

If CEO and other management succession topics are on your plate this year, be sure to check out our recent webcast, “The Secret of My Success: Best Practices for Management Succession Planning,” which is available for free on demand to members of TheCorporateCounsel.net. Not a member? We can fix that. Contact us today at info@ccrcorp.com or call 800.737.1271 to sign up for a no-risk trial.

– John Jenkins