Korn Ferry’s Annual UK Retail CEO Tracker

Interested in the British retail leadership trends? Korn Ferry’s UK Retail CEO Tracker Report provides an annual overview with crucial data points.  

Each year, the report highlights key changes and emerging patterns in CEO appointments, offering valuable insights for industry stakeholders. 

Our newest report uncovers a significant shift in the leadership dynamics of the UK retail sector.  

Key findings from the most recent report: 

•  Only 22 permanent retail CEO appointments were made in 2024, a 20% decrease from the previous year.  
• Just six of the newly appointed CEOs were women, half the number from the previous year. 
• Only two CEOs appointed last year were ethnic minorities, and there's been no material shift in this number over the past decade. 
• The split between external and internal CEO appointments was almost equal, at 52% and 48%, respectively. 

The decrease in CEO appointments is especially noteworthy, says Korn Ferry’s Sarah Lim. She points to ongoing economic challenges and market contractions in the UK retail sector. 

“More businesses have gone into distress over the last few years, with brands being acquired out of administration by larger players or disappearing entirely,” says Lim.  

 “The drop in the number of female CEO appointments over the last year is an especially unwelcome development, particularly given increasing efforts in the last few years to promote greater boardroom diversity,” she says.

In addition to these findings and insights, this year’s report, which is the 13th of its kind, also reveals new data around: