Companies want battle-tested CFOs. There aren’t enough of them

Those are some of the latest findings of leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) Q1 2026 Global CFO Turnover Index. Based on moves in the S&P 500, FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and other major stock indexes, global CFO appointments dipped slightly to 4.9% in Q1 2026 from a record 5.2% in Q1 2025.

That equates to 89 CFOs being appointed globally in Q1 2026, down from 95 the same time the year prior. This marks the first Q1 year-over-year decline in CFO appointments since 2022, according to RRA. While CFO hiring activity cools, it remains high by historical standards, sitting above the seven-year Q1 average of 4.4% (82).

But looking specifically at U.S. companies, the S&P 500 remained particularly active, with appointments reaching 6.6% (33) on par with Q1 2025 record levels, the research found.

Finance chiefs are increasingly retiring—a major factor in CFO exits. Globally, 60% of outgoing CFOs retired or moved to the board in Q1, up from 56% the same time last year and well above the seven-year Q1 average of 39%.

RRA explains that some possible reasons are strong capital markets may be creating an attractive exit point for seasoned CFOs. Meanwhile, the role’s growing complexity is also likely a factor. After years of tariffs, market volatility, and rising expectations around transformation and AI, some CFOs may be choosing to step away rather than reinvent themselves for the role’s next phase.

Fortune covers Fortune 500 moves weekly, and here are few prominent CFO retirement announcements that came in Q1:

—McKesson Corporation (No. 9) announced in March that Britt Vitalone, EVP and CFO, decided to retire after a 20-year career with the company, including more than eight years as CFO. Kenny Cheung, formerly the CFO at Sysco, will join McKesson as EVP and CFO on May 29.

—In January, Progressive (No. 57) announced that its CFO John Sauerland will retire on July 3. Sauerland has worked at Progressive for 35 years, including the last 10 as CFO. Andrew Quigg, currently the company’s chief strategy officer, is expected to succeed Sauerland.

—Also in January, Regions Financial (No. 433) announced David Turner would retire from his CFO role on March 31 after 20 years with the bank, including 16 years as CFO. He was succeeded by Anil Chadha, controller and head of corporate finance.

RRA also finds that experienced CFOs are in high demand. In Q1, 42% of newly appointed CFOs had prior public company CFO experience—up from a 35% seven-year average and marking a Q1 high. This trend extends to external hires, which reached a Q1 high of 47%, as companies seek proven leaders for today’s challenging environment.

One other trend to keep an eye on: the rise in interim CFOs. The gap between CFO appointments (89) and departures (69) in Q1 2026 was wider than usual, RRA finds, partly due to a significant rise in interim CFO appointments, accounting for 12% of new hires (up from 6% in 2025). This indicates a growing reliance on temporary leadership to manage unplanned departures or extended search processes, according to the firm.

These findings highlight an increasingly competitive and complex landscape for CFO succession. Boards and CEOs want leaders with proven readiness, but the pool of seasoned candidates is becoming more limited.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Aylwyn Bryan was promoted to CFO of CRH (NYSE: CRH), a provider of building materials, effective May 12.  Bryan has over 25 years of financial leadership experience, including the past 14 years with CRH. Most recently he served as CFO of CRH’s Americas Division and previously as head of group finance and group tax director.  Bryan succeeds Nancy Buese, who has stepped down by mutual agreement and will remain with CRH for a three-month period to support a smooth transition.

Anuj Girdhar was appointed CFO of Sunkist Growers, Inc. Girdhar brings more than 20 years of financial leadership experience within the agriculture and beverage industries. Most recently, he served as CFO at O’Neill Vintners & Distillers. Before that, he held leadership roles at E. & J. Gallo Winery, including director of financial planning and analysis.

Big Deal

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, bringing new leadership to the world’s most powerful central bank.

Warsh, 56, a former top Fed official, was confirmed Wednesday in a largely party-line 54-45 vote. He will officially take over as Fed chair on Friday, when Jerome Powell’s term expires, during an unusually difficult time for the independent agency.

The Fed is still grappling with how to respond to rising energy prices that have boosted inflation, which reached 3.8% in April. Read more here. 

Going deeper

If you talk to a young American trying to find a job, they’re probably not feeling great about their prospects—and the data backs that up.

The U.S. has the largest gap of any country between how younger and older adults view the job market, according to a new Gallup report. In 2025, just 43% of Americans aged 15 to 34 said it was a good time to find a job locally—21 percentage points lower than Americans aged 55 and older. That gap puts younger Americans at 87th out of 141 countries for job market optimism among their peers.

“This relative negativity among younger American adults is a new phenomenon and reverses a long-standing trend in which they were more optimistic than older adults,” according to Gallup.

Overheard

“Apps won’t disappear overnight. The transition will be uneven, and some categories will hold longer than others.”

—Zach Lloyd, founder and CEO of warp.dev, a platform for agentic development, writes in a Fortune opinion piece titled “I spent 8 years building Google Sheets. Now I think apps are on their way out.” Before founding Warp, Lloyd spent nearly a decade as principal engineer on the Google Docs suite.