Why Gen X is being skipped over for CEO roles – Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News

Some organizations may be skipping over Generation X contenders for the CEO role, opting instead for millennials, once baby boomers currently at the helm retire, The Wall Street Journal reported July 29.

Baby boomers are also retiring later. In 2025, 41.5% of CEOs in the Russell 3000 were at least 60 years old — up from 35.1% in 2017, according to the Journal. During the same period, the share of CEOs ages 30 to 49 rose slightly from 13.8% to 15.1%.

Gen X — born between 1965 and 1980 — ranges in age from 44 to 60 in 2025. In 2017, 51.1% of Russell 3000 CEOs were in their 50s. That figure has since dropped to 43.4%, indicating a potential shift away from Gen X leadership.

Millennials, meanwhile, are on track to outnumber Gen Xers in leadership roles across U.S. industries in 2025, according to a LinkedIn report. Gen X still made up the majority of C-suite and vice president roles at 45.7%, compared to 44.8% for millennials — a narrow gap that is expected to reverse.

Although the age of newly hired CEOs is trending younger, it remains above pre-pandemic levels. The average age at hire across industries was 51.8 in 2014, rose to 55.5 in 2022, and decreased slightly to 53.5 in 2024, according to a Crist Kolder Associates report.

In healthcare, the average CEO tenure is 7.6 years — comparable to the 7.4-year average across all industries, the report found.

Some of the generational shift may be attributable to timing. During the pandemic, organizations leaned on baby boomers’ experience and institutional knowledge. Now, amid the rise of artificial intelligence, some companies are gravitating toward younger leaders, the Journal reported.

Still, many baby boomers are delaying retirement altogether. Nearly 20% of Americans aged 65 and older are employed — almost double the rate from 25 years ago.