AI transformation is an ongoing, multi-year journey facing C-suites. And for some at the top, it may make more sense to jump ship before diving fully in, which could continue to fuel already-high CEO churn.
In separate interviews with CNBC about their departures, outgoing Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey and former Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon both acknowledged that AI was a contributing factor in their decision to step down.
Quincey, who will be succeeded by COO Henrique Braun on March 31, said that while the retail giant made “a lot of progress” under his leadership in a “pre-AI, pre-gen-AI mode,” there’s now “a huge new shift coming along.” He added that the organization needed “someone with the energy to pursue a completely new transformation of the enterprise” and that “it was time to put someone else on the field for the next wave of growth.”
McMillon also recently told CNBC the pace of change AI is ushering in didn’t align with the vision for his own tenure as CEO, a post he held from 2014 until his retirement in January, capping four decades with the company.
“With what’s happening with AI, I could start this next big set of transformations with AI, but I couldn’t finish,” McMillon said.
Both leaders openly acknowledged the influence of AI on their decisions, and the pressure for new blood to meet the demand for unprecedented transformation is being felt by leadership across sectors. For instance, after ongoing tumbling stock prices, longtime Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen recently announced his departure, with analysts pointing to the firm lagging AI advances made by competitors.
AI and CEO turnover: a tale of uncertainty
According to data from Russel Reynolds, CEO turnover hit record levels in 2025, with a 16% spike in global CEO departures last year from 2024, more than 20% over the eight-year average. As AI expectations continue to take shape, the CEO exodus could balloon those numbers further.
In a recent piece for Forbes, Julian Hayes, founder of boutique consultancy Executive Health, acknowledged the outsized influence of AI on today’s CEOs, who, regardless of industry are operating “inside a pressure cooker created by AI’s acceleration, heightened scrutiny and ongoing uncertainty,” Hayes says.
He says those who want to weather those conditions to lead AI transformation from the top spot need to stay mentally agile, prioritize building stability despite uncertainty and absorb the noise around them—without losing composure.
“The current wave of CEO turnover,” Hayes writes, “is a clear reflection of this volatility and ultimately a mirror showing how AI has accelerated the pace of business, multiplied inputs, reshaped individuals’ capacity and raised the threshold for how quickly leaders must adapt, decide and stabilize their organizations.”
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