When the boss wants or needs out: More CEOs departing

• CEO departures are on the upswing%2C according to a new report. Resignations and retirement accounted for many of the 119 changes announced in August.
• Five Arizona execs have departed this year%2C though none in August. Also%2C no CEOs at the state's largest public corproations have left this year.

Rank-and-file workers aren't the only ones who occasionally want or need out. Even corporate and non-profit chief executive officers leave their posts, and the pace of turnover appears to be increasing.

In August, 119 CEOs announced their departures, according to a report by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

That figure was up from 105 CEO departures in July and from the 113 changes announced in August 2013. Last month's count also was the highest August total since 144 CEOs announced their departures in August 2008.

The report cited five departing Arizona CEOs so far in 2014, though none in August. None of changes came at one of Arizona's largest public corporations.

Of the five Arizona CEO changes, two involved women who led Valley nonprofits. Judy Jolley Mohraz retired from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, while Dana Campbell Saylor left the Arizona YWCA. Also departing were the CEOs of CyberMark International, a Phoenix digital marketing company; Quantum Energy, an electrical engineering firm in Tempe; and Tattoo Manufacturing, a Tucson company that makes temporary tattoos.

Most of the changes happened during the first half of 2014, and replacements have been found in each case.

Through the first eight months of 2014, U.S.-based companies have announced 885 CEO changes, an increase of roughly 5 percent from the 842 CEO exits tracked through the first eight months of 2013.

Nationally, health organizations announced 25 CEO changes in August, while government and nonprofit agencies had 17, with 12 changes in financial services and eight by entertainment/leisure companies.

Forty-one CEOs resigned last month, while 26 retired. Nineteen CEOs found new positions at other companies, and the same number saw their interim CEO roles end, according to the report. Other factors accounted for the remaining departures.

One of the biggest announcements came from retailer Home Depot, where CEO Frank Blake announced he will step down after seven years while remaining chairman. Challenger, Gray & Christmas noted that Home Depot recently experienced a data breach that could affect 60 million credit-card numbers. Also, Sprint said CEO Dan Hesse will resign after seven years of declining customers.

Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616.

Departing Arizona CEOs

Five chief executive officers of Arizona companies or nonprofit groups have left their positions so far this year, due to resignations, retirement or other reasons.

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas