The Graying Corner Office
New data says that the average CEO age has gone up by a decade since 2000. Will younger generations miss out on the top role?
CEOs aren’t usually the youngest people at the company but these days they’re increasingly becoming some of the oldest.
Despite millennials now surpassing baby boomers as the largest cohort in the workplace, CEOs are only getting older. Since the turn of the new century, the average age of CEOs in the United States has increased by ten years, to 61. Executives are starting in the top job later in life as well. And while some firms appear to be turning to younger leaders, the average age at which CEOs are appointed continues to rise, to 55, up from just 48 in 2000, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Experts believe that the age jump reflects companies’ belief that complexities such as AI and constant geopolitical issues require a veteran hand. Boards want someone with a proven track record. They’re desperate for leaders who can get their organizations to perform at a top level—ideally, while also transforming and innovating, says Jane Edison Stevenson, global vice chair of Korn Ferry’s Board and CEO Services practice. “It’s the smallest candidate pool that I can remember,” she notes.
The paper looked at 50,000 CEOs at firms of all sizes from 2000 to 2023. The average CEO age has accelerated far faster, over the same period of time, than the age of the average US worker—which has gone up only two years, from 40 to 42. The aging CEO trend is most pronounced among smaller private firms, according to the paper. Larger companies are offering internal candidates a wider range of assignments. Smaller companies value experience, the paper states, and it’s why many of them are willing to wait to hire older top executives.
To be sure, more recent data suggest that the aging trend may be peaking. The average age of newly appointed CEOs in 2025 was 54.4, down from 55.8 in 2024. If that trend were to continue then the average CEO age could decline overall but historically would still be high.
The aging CEO trend is most pronounced among smaller, private firms, according to the paper. Larger companies are offering internal candidates a wider range of assignments. Smaller companies value that experience, the paper states, and it’s why many of them are willing to wait to hire older top executives.
To be sure, the aging could be experiencing a new reversal. The average age of newly appointed CEOs in 2025 was 54.4, down from 55.8 in 2024. If that trend were to continue than the average CEO age, overall could fall.
For their part, some CEOs have a strong reason for staying: They don’t want to stop working. Although there has been a record number of CEO exits, the successful ones who haven’t been pushed out see no reason to budge. “The reason boomers may be staying in their roles longer has mostly to do with the desire for continuing job stability,” says Joe Griesedieck, Korn Ferry vice chairman and managing director of the firm’s Board and CEO Services practice,
But for Gen-X executives (those born between 1965 and 1980), the graying of the corner office means a longer wait to get there, if they get there at all. More than half of them are at least 50 years old. According to Conference Board research, 42% of US CEOs are over aged 60.
The generation is also getting squeezed from the bottom. While the average age of CEOs is currently 61, many boards are now more open to appointing leaders younger than 50, believing they might better be able to navigate today’s business challenges, such as AI, digital marketing, and changing customer demographics. About 15% of CEOs are under age 50, according to the Conference Board. For a time, experts say, Gen X was perceived as being too young. Now some boards feel the other way about them, wanting fresh ideas from younger executives.
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