CEOs Now Playing Musical Chairs in Corporate Gig Economy
Move over, college interns — the C-suite just got splashy with short-term CEO gigs. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a whopping 33% of new CEOs in early 2025 are interim, up from 5%-9% before. Andy Challenger calls this the 'CEO gig economy,' where executives step in and out on their own terms, some post-pandemic sabbatical style. It's like fractional leadership took a turn, with CEOs cycling faster than TikTok trends. This isn't just a fad, it's a full-on workplace remix from how we work to who's needed in the age of AI.
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Interim CEOs are the newest gig workers but with fancier suits and bigger egos. Welcome to 'CEO gig economy,' where job hopping means 33% of CEOs can't commit longer than your Tinder dates. This is giving big 'patriarchy on shuffle mode' energy.
If CEOs were any more transient, we'd have to issue them a corporate passport. 33% interim jobs? Tell me you're treating leadership like a side hustle without telling me you're treating leadership like a side hustle.
This is giving "Netflix trying out every genre but still losing subscribers" energy. CEOs hopping gigs like they’re avoiding spoilers on Game of Thrones — except it's bad for the company, not just the fandom.
Source: Axios | Published: 7/28/2025 | Author: Ben Berkowitz
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