Most of the top companies in the US market have CEOs well into their 50s and 60s. Vast experience in navigating the industries they are in, have been key to their rise through the ranks.

But the advent of AI brings up a different concern: how good are these older people in embracing new tech? As AI becomes a competitive advantage, CEO turnover is rising, as the top brass struggles to stay relevant.

“If the person at the top can’t do it, they’ll find the next one,” says Georgetown University professor Jason Schloetzer, noting that there is growing assertiveness among boards and activist investors to push CEOs out. C-suite exits are reaching record levels. And pre-emptive firings seem to be catching on, as in many cases, companies are choosing to reset leadership even before the pressure shows up in earnings.

“There’s a sense of planning behind many of these transitions,” notes Ariane Marchis-Mouren, Senior Researcher at The Conference Board. The shift from reactive firings to deliberate succession is becoming clearer.

At Apple, Tim Cook is set to pass the CEO baton to an internal successor, John Ternus and move into a chairman role. Ternus has spent 25 years at the company, leading hardware across its core products. Reports suggest his first product roadmap will focus on the long-elusive foldable iPhone (a product that many competitors including Samsung have been selling for years) and a pipeline of AI-powered smart home devices and wearables.

Early 2026 has several top executives stepping down or retiring. Many of these reflect the challenge of keeping pace with rapid change. CEO chairs are well-cushioned in more ways than one, and as Satya Nadella puts it, “success can make people forget the habits that made them successful in the first place.”

New face for the next race

Tim Cook at Apple, Doug McMillon at Walmart, Shantanu Narayen at Adobe: these CEOs have all led their companies for over a decade.

During Adobe's March 12 update, Narayen noted it was his 100th earnings call as CEO, marking a tenure that saw revenue grow from under $1 billion to over $25 billion. Narayen helped move Adobe from a packaged software company to a cloud-first platform. But now, the winds of AI have been threatening to uproot some of Adobe's most iconic products, including Photoshop.

Adobe says Narayen will step down as CEO, announcing the move even before the board found a successor.

Narayen isn't an outlier. Of 234 global CEO departures in 2025, 32% were planned succession events, up from 22% a year earlier.

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey frames his departure as one “following waves of organizational momentum.” He notes that the company made strong progress in a pre-AI world, but the next phase requires "someone with the energy to pursue a completely new transformation of the enterprise."

Former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon echoed this before stepping down after a decade. He handed the reins to John Furner in February, saying the role needed someone “faster.” McMillon added that while he could start Walmart's next shift into AI-led shopping and “agentic commerce,” he “couldn't finish” it.

Not all CEO exits are the same

When you hear that a bunch of CEOs are stepping down, it’s easy to assume the story is the same everywhere.

Brian Cornell spent over a decade rebuilding Target, but over time, the stores lost some of what made them stand out. Sales stayed weak, and the in-store experience started to feel less distinctive. “In a world where we operate today, our guests continue to look for Tarzhay,” Cornell joked while announcing his departure. Consumers coined that posh, fake-French nickname for Target decades ago, to define how the stores supposedly elevated the everything-everyday shopping experience to something special.

In other cases, company boards are also now more proactive, firing CEOs deemed ineffectual within the first two to three years. PayPal, for instance, raised its outlook twice during the year, then reported numbers that missed expectations. Within days, the CEO was out. Alex Chriss had been in the role for just over two years. The board didn’t soften the message: “The pace of change and execution did not meet the board’s expectations.” The stock fell as much as 18% before markets even opened.

What is really changing?

Look at the people getting picked next, and you can see where things are headed.

More companies are looking for safety, and turning to leaders who’ve already done the job. In Q1 2026, over 40% of new CEOs in the S&P 500 had prior experience, the highest in years. You can see it in Target too, where the board picked COO Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran, to succeed Cornell.

A big factor here is how quickly the CEO role now evolves. As Laura Sanderson, RRA’s EMEAI Co-Lead, put it, “Historically, the first couple of years of a CEO’s tenure were about clarifying the mandate and building alignment. That grace period has been severely compressed.” Judith Wallenstein, BCG Global Head CEO Advisory Practice, agreed, “CEOs today have much less time and operate under the watchful eye of a savvier board.”

And that pressure is coming directly from the top. Boards are now the single biggest source of stress for CEOs, and one in three leaders say they have more to prove to their boards than they did just six months ago.

You can see how that changes hiring decisions. If there’s barely any time to settle in, boards are less willing to take a chance. They lean toward people who already know the business or have run something similar before, because they’re expected to deliver almost immediately. Combine that pressure for results with a volatile environment full of noisy new tech, and the CEO seat can feel a lot less cushiony, fast.