34% of new S&P 500 CEOs have led a public company before. Learn what's driving the shift and how to match the right leader to your mandate.
CEO turnover hit a record in 2025, and many boards found themselves without a ready successor when the top seat opened. More of them are responding by looking for leaders who have already done the job.
In the first half of 2026, 34% of new S&P 500 CEOs CEOs had already led a public company, up from 22% the year before. Boards are also reaching outside more often. A third of new S&P 500 CEOs in 2025 came from outside the company, compared with 18% in 2024. Interim appointments tripled, from 6% of new CEO appointments in early 2024 to 18% in early 2025.
ON Partners' research of more than 400 senior leaders helps explain why. Nearly half (46%) say succession planning isn't proactively managed, and 77% say replacing a senior leader takes at least three months. Meanwhile, 81% of those leaders say they're open to the right opportunity. The leaders boards want most usually aren't on the market. They're open to the right conversation, which is where a search partner's relationships make the difference.
Several market forces are pushing boards toward experienced leaders:
1. Turnover is at a record high. CEO departures reached 446 at U.S. public companies in 2025, the highest annual total since tracking began in 2002.
2. Many first-time CEOs arrive without board experience. Succession benches have stayed thin: roughly 84% of new S&P 1500 CEOs lacked prior enterprise leadership experience, and two-thirds had never served on a board.
3. Hiring profiles haven't kept pace with the roles. Organizations are still using yesterday’s hiring requirements, with over a quarter of leaders looking to replace executives with a like-for-like profile.
As a result, more boards are choosing leaders with a proven record over leaders who show potential.
This preference is showing up in real placements. Cracker Barrel, Boeing and Verizon all recently turned to leaders who had already run a public company elsewhere: Dave Deno (Bloomin' Brands), Kelly Ortberg (Collins Aerospace) and Dan Schulman (PayPal) all came from outside the company they currently work with.
Returning executives also tend to be easier to move. Sitting C-Suite executives usually carry unvested equity and multi-year pay plans, so recruiting them takes more time, a more deliberate approach and a compelling reason to leave. A retired executive has no golden handcuffs to unlock and can often step in on short notice, which is a big part of the appeal when a seat opens unexpectedly.
Proven experience shows up in more places than most boards look:
Proven number twos ready for the top seat. A president, COO or heir apparent at another company who has delivered results and is ready to lead, but whose path to CEO there is blocked or a year away.
Experienced CEOs between roles. Leaders like Deno, Ortberg and Schulman, who bring a record the board can evaluate directly.
Operators from adjacent industries. Leaders whose experience translates to a new market or business model.
Interim and governance roles. Interim CEOs, board chairs and senior advisors who stabilize the business while the board completes a full search.
Where a candidate comes from matters less than what the next few years require. Before a search starts, the board should be clear on three things:
The timeline. A PE hold period, an IPO window and an 18-month turnaround each call for a different leader and a different tenure horizon.
The mandate. Stabilizing a business, scaling it and preparing it for exit are different jobs.
The team. What the leadership team around the CEO needs, and what it already has.
Timing matters too. Sitting executives often carry unvested equity and multi-year pay plans, so recruiting them takes longer and requires a compelling reason to move. Leaders between roles can often start sooner, which matters when a seat opens unexpectedly.
ON Partners evaluates every candidate against two standards: the qualifications the role demands and the culture the leader is walking into. Our relationships across industries let us map the full field, including experienced CEOs, rising operators ready for the top seat, and leaders the board wouldn't have found on its own.
The results bear that out. ON Partners has a 98% placement rate, and 85% of our clients return for their next search.
Talk with a partner about your leadership bench