When companies do hire externally, they are also willing to look beyond their own sector. For example, we found that 43% of external C-suite hires came from outside the company’s industry, underlining the increasingly cross-sector nature of challenges such as transformation, talent strategy, regulation, risk management and growth.
The research also highlights important differences between Europe and the U.S. Compared with Spencer Stuart’s corresponding analysis of the S&P 500, European companies appear less likely to appoint executives who have already held the same C-suite role elsewhere. In Europe, 25% of executives had prior experience in their current role, compared with 33% in the U.S. This suggests that many European companies may be placing greater emphasis on broader enterprise, industry or leadership experience than on previous role-specific experience alone.
The data also underscores the uneven progress on gender representation across the C-suite. Women account for 28% of the executives analysed overall, but representation varies sharply by function. CHROs have the highest proportion of women, at 64%, while women remain significantly underrepresented in roles such as CEO, COO, CIO and chief supply chain officer.
We have compiled key data from the Index into our comparison chart below, where you can compare aggregated data by sector across a wide range of measures, including tenure, external hires and women in leadership.
The European C-suite at a glance
5.2 years
Average tenure for
currently sitting executives
57%
of appointments were internal
15%
are in their first year
in the role
25%
have done the same job elsewhere
47%
of external hires came from a different industry
Comparison table
Key metrics by index
|
Average tenure |
Turnover |
Women |
External |
External industry change |
CXO experience |
# of individuals |
| AEX |
5.6 |
13% |
28% |
49% |
53% |
29% |
157 |
| ATX |
6.5 |
13% |
16% |
42% |
39% |
21% |
98 |
| BEL |
6. |
13% |
27% |
55% |
41% |
24% |
92 |
| BIST30 |
4.8 |
14% |
16% |
31% |
60% |
8% |
161 |
| CAC |
5.5 |
16% |
32% |
38% |
51% |
31% |
225 |
| DAX |
4.3 |
18% |
32% |
38% |
48% |
24% |
225 |
| FTSE100 |
4.7 |
14% |
37% |
50% |
42% |
33% |
568 |
| FTSEMIB |
5.8 |
11% |
13% |
40% |
45% |
20% |
240 |
| IBEX |
6.2 |
15% |
23% |
37% |
49% |
15% |
178 |
| ISEQ20 |
6.1 |
19% |
26% |
45% |
67% |
16% |
93 |
| OBX25 |
5.1 |
16% |
31% |
30% |
36% |
17% |
128 |
| OMXC20 |
4.4 |
16% |
25% |
47% |
37% |
31% |
125 |
| OMXS30 |
5. |
18% |
42% |
49% |
48% |
36% |
143 |
| PSI20 |
6.9 |
16% |
33% |
24% |
72% |
9% |
75 |
| SMI |
4.5 |
16% |
27% |
41% |
49% |
33% |
123 |
| WIG20 |
5.1 |
19% |
17% |
52% |
36% |
20% |
105 |
| CEO |
6.7 |
11% |
8% |
32% |
32% |
23% |
491 |
| COO |
3.6 |
23% |
17% |
33% |
32% |
10% |
219 |
| CFO |
4.9 |
17% |
21% |
49% |
47% |
35% |
478 |
| CHRO |
4.3 |
15% |
64% |
49% |
58% |
31% |
422 |
| CIO |
4.2 |
16% |
17% |
47% |
46% |
24% |
391 |
| CMO |
4.1 |
21% |
39% |
38% |
51% |
16% |
197 |
| CLO |
7.1 |
9% |
40% |
47% |
54% |
23% |
417 |
| CSCO |
4.2 |
21% |
12% |
35% |
26% |
26% |
121 |
| Consumer |
5.3 |
15% |
30% |
42% |
51% |
29% |
477 |
| Financial services |
5.5 |
14% |
30% |
43% |
43% |
19% |
691 |
| Healthcare |
5.3 |
10% |
31% |
52% |
47% |
29% |
191 |
| Industrial |
5.1 |
17% |
25% |
40% |
41% |
24% |
1083 |
| TMT+S |
5.1 |
17% |
29% |
46% |
64% |
32% |
294 |
| OVERALL |
5.2 |
15% |
28% |
43% |
47% |
25% |
2736 |
