Its tough at the top and very, very public

2026 exits (so far) of public company CEOs

Looking for new opportunities?

Time for the next phase?

Need more time with the family?

Paul McKenzie, CEO at CSL, is “retiring” after an 81% profit drop and a share price eight‑year low, effective immediately. Its tough when other discover your desire to spend more time with family for you. The chair said that the board “recognised McKenzie didn’t have the skills that we wanted for the future”.

Awkward.

Helen Lofthouse, CEO at ASX is stepping down in May, neatly tied to the first release of the new CHESS system. That’s just the central plumbing that clears trades and records ownership across the entire Australian equities market. The first attempt took 7+ years of work, was never delivered, writing of $250m. This was the first phase of the second attempt, costing $125m. Sounds more like a tech start‑up. Lofthouse and the board agreed that “this is the right time for a new person to bring fresh energy”.

Spicy.

Tony Lombardo will exit Lendlease in August, after five years as CEO, nearly two decades at the group and a 29% share price drop over the last 12 months. The chair gave a transparent assessment, describing FY27 as an “inflection point,” and said that, with the refreshed strategy now embedded, this is a “natural opportunity for new leadership” to guide the next phase of execution. Lombardo will relocate to Southeast Asia for a “new career opportunity”

Yikes.

Remember that shocker of a Four Corners interview where Woolworths’ CEO Brad Banducci walked off camera, then announced his “retirement”. He was actually doing a good job, but his public performance was off, and the board read the room.

It has always been tough at the top and very, very public.