There is a new record-breaking exit that adds to the number of CEO departures at U.S. companies; this time it is Laxman Narasimhan as CEO of Starbucks Corp.
Of all the 191 chief executives who have exited companies within the Russell 3000 Index this year, 74 out of them were classified as being sacked or thrown out, according to data on exechange.com. The 191 CEO exit signifies the highest number of CEO ousters at this point in the year since exechange.com began tracking such exits in 2017.
Exechange.com included Narasimhan in its tally, even though Starbucks did not give the exact reason that Narasimhan left the company.
“CEOs who do not perform well in the rapidly changing market environment are now apparently being replaced very rigorously,” said Daniel Schauber, founder of exechange.com, in an interview Tuesday.
The Starbucks chain had seen two consecutive quarters of declining comparable sales, and its stock fell 20% in 2024 before the leadership change. It was reported that the board was under pressure from activist investors Elliott Investment Management and Starboard Value, and former CEO Howard Schultz had been expressing concerns about the company’s performance both publicly and privately.
Board Chair Mellody Hobson told the media in an interview on Tuesday that Narasimhan’s exit was not necessarily because of pressures from external forces.
Exechange.com rates CEO exits on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 signifying a fully voluntary departure and 10 signifying a clear firing. The average CEO departure score in 2024 is 6.2, the highest since the firm began collecting the data. Narasimhan’s exit was rated a 9.