CFO turnover is accelerating at the nation’s largest public companies, according to newly released data in Crist Kolder Associates’ mid-year 2026 Volatility Report, shared with CFO Daily.
The executive search firm’s report studied corporate leadership at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, a total of 665 companies. CFO turnover for the full year of 2026 is projected to reach 18.3%, compared to 18.2% in 2020 and 19.3% in 2019. The historical average for CFO turnover over the past 10 years is 16%.
“The demands of the job keep expanding, so it’s no surprise the churn continues,” Scott W. Simmons, co-managing partner at Crist Kolder, told me.
Some CFOs have decided to retire while other finance chiefs are being tapped to steer turnarounds or AI initiatives, for example.
Courtesy of Crist Kolder Associates
Several CFO moves in the Fortune 500 stand out from the first half of this year:
AT&T: Pascal Desroches, CFO since 2021, announced he’ll retire effective Dec. 31. Jennifer Biry—a 20-year AT&T finance veteran who most recently was CFO and COO of McAfee—was named deputy CFO effective July 6 and will officially succeed him Jan. 1, 2027.
Caterpillar: CFO Andrew Bonfield elected to retire effective Oct. 1, after eight years. Company veteran Kyle Epley, previously SVP of global finance services, took over as CFO, effective May 1, with Bonfield staying on in an advisory capacity through the transition.
Oracle: Hilary Maxson, former group finance chief at Schneider Electric with infrastructure and energy experience, began her tenure as CFO in April—a hire tied directly to Oracle’s buildout of AI and cloud infrastructure.
Nike: David Denton, a Pfizer finance executive, joined the sneaker and apparel giant as CFO on Aug. 17 as it works through a turnaround.
Pfizer: After David Denton stepped down and left the company on Aug. 15, Cecile Guegan, SVP of finance for the global biopharma business, took over as interim CFO Aug. 16 while Pfizer runs a full internal and external search.
Another finding from the mid-year 2026 Volatility Report, which is based on data through July 31, is that newly appointed CFOs are getting younger. The average age for a CFO in 2026 is projected to be 48, compared to an average of 52 in 2025.
Simmons explained that the average tenure of a sitting CFO is 4.5 years, and newly appointed CFOs only come from another sitting CFO position roughly 25% of the time.
“Those two data points taken together suggest the need to tap into talent that may be younger and less experienced,” he said.
Written by Sheryl Estrada for Fortune as “CFO turnover at America’s largest companies is on pace to hit 18.3% — the highest since the pandemic” and republished legally through syndication agreement with Reuters Connect.
