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? Baby boomer CEOs’ successors aren’t Gen X professionals — they’re millennials. Gen X (born 1965-1980) professionals have long stood in queue for their slice of the C-suite cake, but it appears that incumbent baby boomer CEOs have opted to hand out the goods to millennials instead, Fortune finds.
Skipping the lines: Doomed to live up to its “forgotten generation” label, Gen X is getting fewer chances to lead, occupying 43.4% of CEO seats, down from 51.1% eight years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Russell 3000 index is seeing a rise in chief executives over the age of 60 — past retirement — at 41.5%, up from 35.1% in 2017. Concurrently, millennial CEOs have grown to 15.1%, up from 13.8% in the same timeframe, according to research conducted by the Conference Board.
Hard labor might not always bear fruit. Holding onto the hope that hard work will pay off, Gen Xers are facing a tough truth, according to WSJ. “Gen X is being squeezed in the middle,” Conference Board Head of Benchmarking and Analytics Matteo Tonello says. Perhaps as AT&T CEO John Stanky recently said, “loyalty is dead.” What gives? Willingness to adopt AI.
Companies are looking to millennials to lead the AI charge. While Gen Xers remain at the top of the CEO population, that likely won’t be the case for long. Younger professionals are in favor, in a shift owed to the rising importance of AI adoption in the workplace, something Gen Xers don’t seem to be quite content with as their millennial counterparts. A 2024 report from recruitment agency Randstad found that 50% of millennials already use GenAI in day to day operations, in contrast to Gen X’s 37%.
Why do millennials fit the bill? It’s simple: they have both ample industry experience, and are optimistic about the future of AI in business — with up to 55% proving more forward-thinking about AI use.
It’s not all bad news for Gen X professionals. Despite being skipped over for C-suite roles, a rising number of private-equity backed companies seem to have their eyes set on Gen X professionals to lead the charge on short-term investments with quick exits, WSJ notes.
Where does Gen Z stand in all of this? Prioritizing work-life balance, a growing number of Gen Z professionals are practicing “ consciousunbossing ” — deliberately avoiding leadership roles. What does this mean for the future of corporate? It seems only time will tell.
