Public companies that go looking for a CFO (and there have been a lot of them lately) tend to favor those with experience, according to the latest Russell Reynolds CFO Turnover Index.
Global CFO turnover at public companies reached a seven-year peak in the first half of 2025, with 173 finance chiefs being replaced during the period, the index shows. Appointments were up slightly from 169 in the first six months of 2024. Turnover was particularly high among S&P 500 companies and in the industrial and natural sources sectors, according to the consulting firm.
The increase in CFO turnover came from “increased retirement rates and record high CEO turnover in 2024,” Russell Reynolds noted. The firm found that 56% of outgoing CFOs in H1 either retired or transitioned to board roles , another seven-year high and “significantly above” the 41% seven-year average.
Women CFO appointments fell. Amid a busy six months of CFO turnover, the proportion of women appointed to CFO roles declined YoY to 22%, from a first-half record of 28%.
“To maintain momentum, it’s critical that organizations continue to challenge traditional leadership profiles and accelerate the development of a broader pool of leadership talent,” the firm noted.
Most CFO appointments were internal hires. Insiders had the best path to CFO positions at public companies: More than half (57%) of incoming CFOs came from within the companies, a slight YoY uptick from 54%.
Organizations that went with an outside candidate put more emphasis on experience. H1 saw “the highest percentage of externally appointed experienced CFO hires,” (77%), according to the data. Russell Reynolds explained that companies leaned more into experienced candidates to help them “navigate complex economic markets” or when succession plans didn’t come together.
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