A retirement wave is reshaping the CFO succession landscape in Asia-Pacific and contributing to a rise in new finance chiefs around the world, according to Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global CFO Turnover Index 2025.
Of 73 CFO departures in Asia-Pacific (APAC) in 2025, 62% were due to retirement, up from 57% in 2024.
This trend has led to 58% of all APAC CFO appointments being first-time finance chiefs, a news release said. “The elevated global CFO turnover is also reflected in APAC, where 92 appointments were recorded, exceeding the region’s seven-year average of 85.”
Australia recorded 49 appointments, Japan 15, Hong Kong 14, India nine, and Singapore five, the release said. The total of 92 new CFOs is up 31% from 2024 and marks the second-highest number Russell Reynolds has recorded, behind the 106 appointments in 2022.
APAC organisations maintained a balanced approach to recruitment, with 47 internal promotions and 45 external appointments.
Globally, CFO appointments reached a seven-year high in 2025, with 316 incoming CFOs — an increase of 10% year over year and 12% above the seven-year average of 281 appointments.
Women appointed as CFOs exceeded the number of women leaving those roles, 67 incoming vs. 54 outgoing, increasing the number of female CFOs at companies in the global Russell Reynolds index.
Additionally, CEO turnover is driving changes to the exit landscape.
“Our research shows CEO turnover reached record levels in 2025, which has two important follow-on effects,” the report said. “First, elevated CEO transitions often create second-order CFO movements as incoming CEOs reassess their leadership teams. Second, CFOs remain increasingly in demand for CEO positions and other broader enterprise roles.”
Those dynamics invite organisations to treat CFO succession as a “standing governance discipline, not an episodic process that begins only when a departure becomes imminent”, the report said.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.