CHICAGO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- United Airlines' James E. Goodwin and Ford Motor Co.'s Jac Nasser led a parade of chief executive officer's who left their positions in October -- a total of 80 and 31 percent more than in September, the executive outplace firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.
The figure, though, was well less than the 129 CEO departures reported in October 2000.
October marked the third consecutive month in which CEO departures increased. Since January, 802 chief executives have left their jobs, 9 percent less than the comparable fire in 2000.
"It is a particularly challenging time to be a CEO because there is so much uncertainty about where this economy is heading and what Congress and the president will do about it," Challenger CEO James E. Challenger said. "There are so many unknown factors, including the potential for more domestic terrorism that could throw the economy into further disarray."
The average tenure among departing CEOs was 4.2 years, down from September's 5.5 average and well below the August average of 7.2 years.
The service sector was hit hardest, with 16 departures; followed by technology, 13; and health, 8. Twenty-eight CEOs left for unspecified reasons, 27 resigned, 12 retired, five accepted new positions elsewhere, three accepted new positions within their own companies, two left, two stepped down and one was replaced.
Only 39 chief financial officers with an average tenure of 6.2 years were reported departing in October. Seven of the departures came from the computer sector, six from industrial products, and five each from technology, services and utilities.
Since March, 438 CFO's have left their jobs.
