It’s a difficult time to be in business, and for many companies, the CEO’s position is becoming a revolving door. According to new data from executive search and leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds shared exclusively with Forbes, 174 global CEOs left their positions just in the quarter. Average CEO tenure declined to 7.2 years in Q3—down more than a year from the average 8.4-year tenure reported just two years ago.

Russell Reynolds notes that these results indicate a shift in board governance and investor activism—not necessarily stressed-out CEOs who want to get out of the hot seat. Boards and institutional investors are more closely monitoring CEO effectiveness, making changes earlier than they might have otherwise, and moving quickly if there are dips in company performance or strategic alignment.

Many of those CEOs are being replaced by newcomers. Russell Reynolds found that so far in 2025, 88% of new CEOs appointed globally are first-timers. This could be for several reasons, the firm said. Considering the multifaceted challenges of business today, boards may be seeking new perspectives in the CEO’s seat. Experienced CEOs also may also be voluntarily passing on another post, given the extreme scrutiny and pressure that come with the job. However, Russell Reynolds noted, U.S. companies bucked the broader trend, reporting that more former CEOs returning to their previous roles to “steady the ship.”

Globally, nearly three-quarters of new CEOs are internal hires. This trend is stronger among companies in the FTSE 100 and Nikkei 225, which saw almost all of their new CEOs moving up an internal succession ladder. U.S. companies made 69% of their hires internally. Russell Reynolds wrote that this shows boards are balancing companies’ needs: whether institutional knowledge and company culture or an outsider’s viewpoint is what’s needed at the moment.

Many companies quickly added AI to their call centers, but maybe it’s not the best way to answer often-angry customer calls. I talked to Sam Dorison, CEO and cofounder of ReflexAI, about his company, which uses AI to train the humans that are employed in call centers and why humans should still be working the phones. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

The government shutdown continues, and is on track to be the longest ever if it keeps going until Tuesday. However, the big-picture economic costs of the shutdown are starting to surface for millions of Americans. Many more federal workers are missing paychecks and food benefits through the SNAP program have been suspended—though a judge has ordered the Trump Administration to tap emergency program funds to keep benefits flowing. The Congressional Budget Office reported last week that spending losses from the shutdown will cost the U.S. $7 billion to $14 billion in GDP so far.

Meanwhile, the subsidy for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act has expired. Democrats have said Republicans’ failure to renew the subsidy is why they oppose reopening the government. Forbes senior contributor Joshua Cohen writes that without the subsidy, premium costs are rapidly increasing: up an average of 17% in states that run their own insurance exchanges, and an increase of 30% for states whose programs are managed by the federal government. Forbes senior contributor Bruce Japsen writes that companies that offered plans to millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act are bracing for large losses of customers who can no longer afford coverage—like the

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