Last year, U.S. companies announced 55% more CEO changes than in 2022, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Boards didn't want to make changes, CEOs themselves didn't want to leave. The retail industry in 2023 saw 52 CEO departures, its second-highest number since Challenger, Gray & Christmas started tracking them, and more than double the 21 CEO turnovers in 2022, according to the firm's data. It was below 2019's record 63 CEO departures in the industry. In Korn Ferry's separate analysis of retail CEO turnover in 2023, the executive recruitment firm found 57% of new chief executives named in the industry last year were already working for the company they will lead.

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Persons: Michelle Gass, Levi Strauss, Macy's, Andy Challenger, Challenger, Korn Organizations: Kohls Corp, National Retail Federation Inc, Challenger Locations: New York, U.S