In 2017, 107 hospital CEOs left their posts, a 31 percent drop from the 154 exits in 2016, according to a report from executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
This mirrored a larger trend, as CEO changes across several U.S. industries were on the decline. Overall, 1,160 CEOs left their companies during the year, which is the lowest total since 2004, when there were just 663 exits.
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The analysis cited uncertainty surrounding the tax and healthcare bills as one of the major contributors to the dip, along with a tight labor market. Those factors prevented many companies from making major leadership changes, and in fact, among those CEOs who did leave their jobs, several stayed with the company in some capacity -- either on the board or in some other executive role.
In all, 30 percent of CEOs who left their jobs stepped down into other roles, compared to 21.4 percent of all CEO changes in 2016, and 19.7 percent in 2015.
CEO departures were also significant because a higher percentage of them occurred due to accusations of sexual misconduct, an issue that has become prominent since last year's story broke about former Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein. Revelations about Weinstein's misconduct instigated a rash of departures from the entertainment industry, and other industries were affected as well. In 2017, 11 CEOs were ousted due to sexual misconduct allegations, 266 percent more than in 2016. The report did not say if any of those CEOs were in healthcare.
In addition to the 107 hospital CEO changes, there were 105 departures in the healthcare/products space. That was 21 percent more than the 87 announced in 2016.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com