Elon Musk says he'll eventually step down as Twitter's CEO. He'd join a growing list of executive departures in 2022, including Meta's Sheryl Sandberg and 2 airline CEOs.

In early December, it was announced that Slack CEO and co-founder, Stewart Butterfield, would be leaving the company. Slack, a messaging app for businesses, was acquired by Salesforce in 2021 for $27 billion. Butterfield's announcement came just days after Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor stepped down from his role.

Only one year after being promoted to the role, Salesforce's co-CEO Bret Taylor said he's leaving the company in January. Marc Benioff, the co-founder of Salesforce, will be the sole CEO when Taylor leaves. Benioff had reportedly grown frustrated with the amount of time Taylor spent in his former role as Twitter's chairman.

Salesforce

Source: WSJ

Twitter's former CEO, Parag Agrawal, was fired by Elon Musk after Musk took over Twitter in late October. Musk fired other top executives at the company simultaneously, including the company's COO, policy head, and general counsel. Agrawal was CEO of Twitter for a little less than one year, taking the helm from co-founder Jack Dorsey in November 2021.

Sheryl Sandberg announced in early June that she would step down as COO of Meta, formerly Facebook. She had been with the company for 14 years and helped turn Facebook into an advertising juggernaut. Sandberg was often called Facebook's "adult in the room."

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In February, John Foley, Peloton's co-founder, announced that he would step down as CEO. He was at the helm during the company's pandemic-fueled rise and its subsequent sharp drop in demand. Barry McCarthy, who was once CFO of both Spotify and Netflix, took over the top spot.

Howard Schultz is stepping down as CEO for a third and final time in April 2023. Schultz began working at Starbucks in 1982 and eventually bought the company in 1987. Schultz has been interim CEO since earlier this year, and the company announced that Laxman Narasimhan would join as the new CEO.

Adidas unexpectedly announced that CEO Kasper Rørsted would leave his role in 2023 before his contract runs out. Rørsted has been the head of Adidas since 2016 and spearheaded the company's often tumultuous relationship with rapper-turned-designer Kanye West.

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CNN President Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned from his longtime post in February, saying he had failed to disclose a romantic relationship with a network executive. Zucker had been at CNN since 2013.

Under Armour unexpectedly announced that CEO Patrik Frisk would step down from the struggling athletic company in May after two years at the helm. Colin Browne, the company's COO, has served as interim CEO since June 1.

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Herbert Diess resigned as Volkswagen CEO on September 1, with the head of Porsche, Oliver Blume, taking over. Diess helped push Volkswagen to make more electric vehicles but often clashed with the carmaker's labor union.

Michael Sohn / Associated Press

Source: NYT

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker officially retired on March 31 after 2 decades in his role. Throughout Parker's tenure, he helped make American the largest airline in the world through mergers and acquisitions.

Source: Insider

Parker wasn't the only major airline CEO to step down this year. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly stepped down in February, handing the reigns over to Robert Jordan, a longtime executive at the company. Kelly had been CEO since 2004.

Carnival CEO Arnold Donald resigned from his role in August. Donald was CEO for 9 years, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the CDC issued a "No Sail Order" for cruise ships.

Another cruise ship executive, Richard Fain, stepped down as Royal Caribbean's CEO in January after 33 years in the role. The company's chief financial officer, Jason Liberty, took over the company's top spot.

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Craig Menear, who was CEO of Home Depot since 2014, announced he was retiring from the role in March. Home Depot named the company's COO, Ted Decker, as his replacement. Menear had worked at the retailer for more than 20 years.

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In July, Gap announced Sonia Syngal would step down as CEO effective immediately. The retailer's executive chairman, Bob Martin, is serving as interim CEO. Syngal was Gap's CEO for only 2 years.

Bed Bath & Beyond appointed board director Sue Gove as interim CEO in June, replacing Mark Tritton amid a slump in sales. The change came a few months after Chewy co-founder and activist investor Ryan Cohen bought a stake in the company and publicly criticized its turnaround strategy.

In late June, Pinterest announced that co-founder Ben Silbermann would transition to a new role as executive chairman. Former Google executive and former Venmo CEO Bill Ready has taken over Pinterest's top job.

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Docusign CEO Dan Springer stepped down from his role earlier this year after the e-signature company's stock lost 60% of its value. The company had seen an initial surge in revenue during the early days of the pandemic when more deals and contracts were signed over the internet.

Source: CNBC

Dollar General announced that its CEO Todd Vasos will retire from his position effective November 1. Jeffrey Owen, who has been COO of the budget retailer, will take over as CEO. Vasos plans to stay in a senior advisory role through April 2023.

After 21 years as Mailchimp's co-founder and CEO, Ben Chestnut announced in August that he would leave his CEO role, stepping back from day-to-day responsibilities but remaining on the company's leadership team.

Denny's named Kelli Valade the fast-casual chain's new CEO effective June 13, replacing John Miller. Valade was once CEO of Red Lobster, and before that, she was president of Chili's Bar & Grill.

In August, Kewsong Lee abruptly stepped down as CEO of private equity juggernaut Carlyle Group. Lee left before the end of his five-year contract, which was set to expire at the end of 2022.

Earlier this year, FedEx announced its CEO Fred Smith would step down on June 1, replaced by Raj Subramaniam, the company's president and COO. Smith started FedEx in 1973.

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Shar Dubey was CEO of Match Group for only 2 years before stepping down in May. Dubey still serves on the board of directors for the Tinder and Hinge parent company.

Domino's Pizza CEO Ritch Allison announced he was retiring earlier this year, with chief operating officer Russell Weiner taking over on May 1.

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Glossier CEO Emily Weiss announced in a blog post earlier this year that Kyle Leahy, the company's chief commercial officer, would replace her as CEO. Weiss, who founded Glossier in 2014, will stay on as executive chairwoman.

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Wingstop's former CEO, Charlie Morrison, unexpectedly resigned from his role earlier this year to take a new job at a drive-through salad retailer called Salad and Go. Morrison had led Wingstop for more than a decade.

In September, oil giant Shell announced that its CEO Ben van Beurden would step down at the end of the year. Van Beurdan joined Shell in 1984 and has served as CEO since 2014.

In May, Bath & Body Works CEO Andrew Meslow announced he would resign from his role - and give up his board seat - due to health reasons. Meslow took over as CEO in May 2020.

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