Top 5 companies with the highest turnover of CEOs

A 2011 survey by financial publication Bloomberg shows that US companies are producing the highest turnover of CEOs since 2005.  The major reason for this change is attributed to company growth following the recent economic downturn, giving directors and CEOs greater confidence in the market place and this upturn is enabling many companies to restructure their boardrooms.

Costco
The US warehousing giant Costco has recently announced a new chief to step in when 75-year-old Jim Senega, the current CEO, steps down.  The new CEO will be Craig Jelinek who has been collaborating with Senega, the company’s founder, for some time and financial analysts suspect that there will be little change in Costco’s future trading strategy.  Costco’s shares have risen by 39 per cent in the past year and this rise is expected to continue.  Some see Jelinek’s new position as a continuation of ‘the Costco way’.

PG&E Corp
Following the retirement of long standing CEO, Peter A Darbee, the PG&E Corp have just appointed their new CEO, Anthony F Earley Jnr.  The company was looking to appoint someone from outside the organisation to provide the company with ‘fresh eyes.’  Earley’s experience as DTE’s CEO since 1998 has given him the respect of the US business community and he has proven success and experience in the role of CEO.  Earley’s knowledge of the energy sector should be a bonus for PG&E Corp.

Wendy’s
The leading burger and fast food chain Wendy’s has announced that Emil J Brolick, CEO of YUM Foods, has taken over as its new CEO.  Brolick’s first actions on assuming the reins at Wendy’s have been to ‘reinvent the restaurant base’ and revitalise the company’s brand.  Wendy’s has 6,600 global locations and it has previously been seen to be drifting following the death of the company’s founder, Dave Thomas, in 2002.  Brolick aims to revamp Wendy’s so that it becomes the first choice for burger consumers.

JC Penney Co
JC Penney managed to entice former Apple executive Ron Johnson to become its CEO in 2011.  The company felt that it needed a change of image and Johnson had already proved his mettle when at Apple Inc.  One of Johnson’s first acts has been to invigorate the JC Penney brand and revitalise the company’s stores.  Johnson has seen his mission as providing JC Penney with a similar transformation as he introduced to Apple stores

Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK)
Following the departure of CEO Robert Kelly in 2011, the Bank of New York Mellon Corp has appointed Gerald L Hassell to the post.  Kelly’s departure was sudden and the bank has refused to elaborate on the reasons for this change.  Hassell has worked at the bank since 1988 and he is expected to implement cost-cutting changes within the Bank of New York Mellon Corp.  Many industry insiders believe that the bank will concentrate on internal restructuring under Hassell rather than future acquisitions within the banking or financial sector.