There has been a record number of CEO departures year-to-date in 2024, according to data from Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, with Intel's (INTC) Pat Gelsinger and Stellantis' (STLA) Carlos Tavares being the latest. Cambrian Futures CEO and faculty director for the executive education program Future of Technology at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Olaf Groth joins Catalysts Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills to discuss the commonalities among the CEO shakeups.

"Each one of these cases has its own very own pathology, but there are some common threads," Groth says, explaining that "all of these companies are trying to make some fairly heavy pivots amidst some very dramatic headwinds. And they're not making these pivots fast enough for the markets to see the potential for growth." He names Starbucks (SBUX), Nike (NKE), Stellantis, and Intel as fitting this description.

The companies are "making these pivots amidst very heavy trends and forces that are disrupting their industries," like electrification, geopolitics, inflation, and competition, as these leaders are trying to cut their way back to health in terms of budget cuts and layoffs, very substantial layoffs. But of course, you can't shrink yourself to growth."

He adds, "Amidst all these headwinds and global trends, it's very, very hard to be a chief executive and to singlehandedly steer the ship toward higher growth."

Watch the video above for more from Groth.

To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.

This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.