Volatile markets, changing regulation and a weakened global economy led to 123 departures of chief executives at finance firms last year, the third highest among all industries, according to a report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
In December, five finance CEOs announced they would leave their positions, down from nine the previous month. December departures included Tony Wolfe of People's Bancorp of North Carolina, who is retiring, and Gary Oakland of Washington-based credit union BECU. Oakland is retiring as well and will be replaced by Benson Porter.
Across all industries, 83 CEOs announced their intention to step aside in December, up one from the number in November.
The number of CEO departures across all industries last year was the lowest since 2004. Notable departures included Carol Bartz of Yahoo, Eric Schmidt of Google, Steve Jobs of Apple, Janet Robinson of the New York Times Co., Vivian Schiller of NPR and Tim Glocer of Thomson Reuters, Challenger said.
In 2011, 1,178 CEOs across all industries said they would leave their posts, down from the 1,234 who did so in 2010. Twenty-nine percent, or 341, of CEOs said they resigned, 245 retired and 223 stepped down but remained on their company's board of directors.
Of the 26 sectors covered in the report, healthcare, government and finance sectors contributed the most to CEO turnover in 2011. The Chicago-based company tallies CEO turnover from company filings and media announcements.
Write to Julie Steinberg at Julie.Steinberg@dowjones.com
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