Dive Brief:

• The average age of new CFOs when hired fell this year to 48.2 years old from 51.9 years last year, marking the youngest cohort since 2016, according to a newly released report on C-suite trends in public companies by Crist Kolder Associates, an executive search firm based in suburban Chicago.      
• The finance chiefs are roughly five years younger than new CEOs to whom they may be reporting: the average at-hire age of CEOs has held flat so far this year at 53.5 years, compared to 53.2 last year.
• “Gen X is geared to have the next big power swing,” Josh Crist, a co-managing partner at Crist Kolder, told CFO Dive. “It’s a generational turnover which allows for young people to help these companies grow and develop.” 

Dive Insight:

The findings of CKA’s Mid-Year Volatility Report 2026 report are based on CEOs and CFOs at 665 companies in the Fortune 500 and S&P 500. 

The shift of corporatations to include more leaders hailing from Generation X — people born between 1965 and 1980 — is occurring as many executives in the Baby Boomer Generation — those born between 1946 and 1964 — are leaving their companies or stepping down from the C-suite to join boards, pursue philanthropy or take other roles.

CFO retirements rose to an eight-year H1 high in 2026, according to data from management consultants Russell Reynolds Associates, and the share of first-time CFOs ticked up to comprise 64% of new appointments. 

While it’s difficult to know why they are retiring, Crist said AI may be speeding the exit of some who opt not to stay on with their companies as they grapple with the new era of AI. “We’ll call it retirements but…no one is going to say in a public setting, ‘I don’t like where we’re going with AI so I’m out,’” Crist said.

From a company perspective, the younger professionals may bring the promise of someone who is earlier in their career, whom firms can develop along with their AI strategies. The average tenure for CFOs is 4.5 years, but Crist said that level of churn is not ideal for many companies who want more stability. 

“What I’m hearing is, ‘listen, our ideal age is 45 to 50 …We want someone who is going to be able to be around for 15 to 20 years,” Crist said. Elsewhere, in specific instances where experience in areas like IPOs or big transactions are needed, he said companies may seek out seasoned executives who know the terrain. 

Even when choosing younger leaders, companies prize relevant experience. For example, among the youngest CFOs who took their posts this year was Sean Gillen, 40. He joined Northbrook, Illinois-based Idex in January after serving for seven years in the same role at AAR, an aviation services company. 

At AAR, “Mr. Gillen was instrumental in developing and deploying the company’s strategy with a focus on portfolio management, capital deployment, and M&A,” Idex said in a release at the time. 

Though rare, historically there have been some public CFOs that took the seat even earlier in their career. In 2017, food giant Kraft Heinz hired private equity executive David Knopf, who was then 29 years old: The youngest CFO in the company’s history, CFO Dive reported previously. Knopf was replaced in 2019, after Kraft Heinz’s accounting policies and internal controls drew scrutiny and the company took a $15.4 billion write-down on Kraft and Oscar Mayer, CNBC reported at the time. 

Separately, CKA’s wide-reaching report also found that Black CFO representation has fallen 25% from its 2021 peak, as companies have rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, CFO Dive previously reported.