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Andrew Taylor in London This is a near reversal of 2005, when 18 per cent of chief executives at North American companies vacated their post, compared with 15 per cent in Europe and 15 per cent in Asia. Overall, 15 per cent of the world's largest companies experienced a change in chief executive in 2006, with 31 per cent of those leaving against their will, according to research by Weber Shandwick, one of the world's largest PR consultancies. The study, charting departures at Fortune 500 companies, reported that the global churn rate for the top post, although slightly lower than the 17 per cent recorded in 2005, still remained high compared with other job movements. Asia-Pacific saw the greatest proportion of CEOs who were forced out, with 45 per cent of departing chiefs not wanting to leave. This compares with 30 per cent in Europe and 17 per cent in North America. “Investors demand peak performance from companies. When financial performance fails to meet expectations, investors around the world demand a change at the top,” says Leslie Gaines-Ross, Weber Shandwick's chief corporate reputation strategist. She said that uncertainty could be created even when a CEO departs as part of a planned succession, “because the status quo has been disrupted”. Among the 74 chief executives of Fortune 500 companies who departed their job last year were three of the biggest names in the motor industry. Bernd Pischetsrieder, chief executive of Volkswagen, was ousted in a boardroom coup; Jean-Martin Folz announced in September he would step down as head of French carmaker Peugeot; and Bill Ford quit as chief executive of Ford Motor.
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