Women rise to five-year high in CFO appointments

Dive Brief:

The number of women appointed as CFOs globally reached a five-year high in the first half of this year, although they remain underrepresented in the role, according to a recent report by leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates.
Of the 163 CFOs appointed in the first six months of the year, 44 were women, a 33% increase over the year-earlier period, according to the firm’s data.
“The tech industry in particular has made large strides in gender diversity, with 38% of incoming tech CFOs being women, the highest proportion since H1 2021 records,” the report said.

Dive Insight:

The research also shows that more CFOs are choosing to retire, with 54% outgoing CFOs during the first half of 2024 taking that route or moving to board roles exclusively, an increase of 15 percentage points year-over-year and a five-year high, Russell Reynolds said.

Overall, CFO turnover spiked 8.9% in the first half of 2024, according to the analysis.

“This high indicates that as economic uncertainty becomes the new normal for organizations, previous trepidation to replace CFOs has dissipated,” the report said.

Google parent Alphabet is among companies that have announced a new CFO this year. In June, Alphabet said it appointed Eli Lilly veteran Anat Ashkenazi to become its new CFO, effective July 31. The tech giant later disclosed that Ashkenazi was granted an annual base salary of $1 million and a one-time sign-on bonus of $9.9 million.

Ashkenazi replaced Ruth Porat, who announced last year that she was stepping down from Alphabet’s top finance post and transitioning into a newly created dual role of president and chief investment officer at the company.

In another move, global professional services company Accenture announced in June that it named Angie Park, its head of business and commercial finance, to the role of CFO, effective Dec. 1. She succeeds KC McClure, who is retiring after 36 years of service with the company.

Park is set to receive an annual base salary of $900,000 in her new role.

Meanwhile, in May, automaker Ford Motor Co. announced that it hired Sherry House to become its vice president of finance as of early June, with plans to transition her into the role of CFO in early 2025. House, a former executive of electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group, is set to replace Ford CFO John Lawler, who is taking on broader responsibilities as vice chair.

Ford granted House an annual base salary of $900,000 and a sign-on bonus of $4.2 million.

The proportion of women holding all board and C-suite positions in companies in the Russell 3000 Index rose to 21.9% in 2021 from 9.5% in 2010, according to a 2023 study by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Despite notable progress for women in US leadership, the data also show that gender parity in the C-suite remains elusive,” a report on the findings said. “C-suite parity may not occur until mid-21st century, while parity at the highest levels in CEO and CFO positions could take even longer.”