For many CFOs and others who are ready to assume the role, scoping out career opportunities is rarely far from mind. As such, they may benefit from keeping fresh on some basic facts about the executive hiring landscape.
For example, last year, a majority (59%) of open seats for finance chiefs in the United States were filled internally. That’s according to executive search and finance consulting firm Eton Bridge Partners, which analyzed 6,400 CFO hires in the 10 countries with the greatest volume of appointments. Many were promotions from finance vice president positions.
The internal vs. external breakdown was similar in several other countries, although external hires predominated in China (55%) and Sweden (59%).
It’s not necessarily a young person’s game, with the average age of U.S. appointees at 51 in 2024, with “opportunities peaking in the mid-50s,” Eton Bridge wrote in its survey report. The lowest average age was in China (46) the highest was in Japan (58).
On the other hand, a healthy proportion (29%) of the hired finance chiefs took on the title for the first time, so while boards at U.S. companies tend to prefer seasoned financial leadership, opportunities for newcomers do exist.
Despite ongoing diversity efforts, women accounted for only 20% of U.S. CFO appointments, which the report noted was slightly below benchmarks at large public companies. Major indices for such enterprises place the percentage around 25%, Eton Bridge said.
China and Sweden had the highest percentage of female CFOs, with 30% and 28%, respectively. The lowest were in Japan (4%) and India (9%).
An overwhelming majority of those hired stayed within the same sector where they had previously worked. That reversed the trend seen in 2023, when there were higher levels of sector mobility. In the United States, the 2024 proportion was 90%.
“The U.S. CFO landscape reflects a mature market where private equity influence, regulatory complexity and sector-specific growth in health care and technology demand deeply experienced, sector-literate financial leaders,” Eton Bridge wrote.
On a global basis, private equity-backed companies continued to be a “major driver” of CFO hiring in certain markets, especially the U.S., U.K., China, Germany and Switzerland, the report noted.
But that was not the norm in other markets, such as Canada and Australia, where there were relatively few CFO moves in PE-backed settings.
Based on the current developing patterns, Eton Bridge pointed to three themes it expects to shape the CFO employment market over the next year.
- Strategic stretch in the CFO remit. As the line between CFO and COO continues to blur, “finance leaders who can own operational transformation, digital agendas, or even people-related functions will be in high demand.”
- A return to movement. Citing a reopening of private equity pipelines, Eton Bridge predicted there will be an uptick in CFO transitions this year, especially in Europe.
- Progress, but not parity, on diversity. “We expect continued board-level focus on improving female representation at the CFO level, but delivery experience will still be the decisive factor.
