CEOs in the Mist.

It always amuses me to read people's claims about chief executives. Assertions about them as a class, such as whether they are mostly self-made entrepreneurs or privileged Skull and Bones Yalies, always seem based on incomplete or sketchy data. At CE we became curious. Just who are these hominids anyway? Where do they come from, and how do they evolve into this creature we call the CEO?

Some six years ago, we set out to do for this species what Margaret Mead did for the natives of Samoa and New Guinea, what Jane Goodall did for the gorillas of central Africa, and what John Debrett did for the English peerage, which, come to think of it, is not that far off from the gorilla lady. We began to track who CEOs are in terms of readily available metrics, such as age, education, company tenure, CEO tenure, and career path. After a few rudimentary starts, CE teamed up with executive recruiters Tom Neff and Dayton Ogden of Spencer Stuart, who had a wealth of data going back 20 years and shared a close interest in the field.

It's not that data is scarce; quite the reverse, there's an ocean of factoids, but having the relevant facts in one place and making sense of them is not as straightforward a proposition as it might seem. Stopping short of tagging bosses like lions roaming the Serengeti or whales migrating the Pacific, the Jane Goodalls of Spencer Stuart's marketing research department, Kim Brisley and Kelley Allen, have ventured deep into the data jungle to amass what may be the most accurate statistical profile of CEOs extant. The study and commentary beginning on page 30 is taken from 1999 yearend data on the top 700 publicly traded companies in the U.S. Comparable data for 1980 is used for historical reference.

A few insights are worth noting. Average CEO tenure turns out to be highly misleading. About 3 to 4 percent of the 700 chiefs have unusually long CEO tenures, ranging from 18 to 25 years. This segment pulls overall average tenure four standard deviations from the median, which more closely reflects what's actually happening with CEOs holding their jobs. Neff notes that part of the higher attrition is due to a mindset CEOs did much to create. A decade of downsizings has effectively smashed loyalty including at the top.

Neff also takes issue with boards that are quick to pull the trigger and investors who demand results too early, often by the second or third quarter into a new CEO's job. This can create more problems for the company as it may lead to drastic measures for short-term gain.

Eye-popping severance pay packages for failed CEOs receive scrutiny by Jim Drury, who reports that the AFL-CIO and other unions are keeping score on excessive payouts. CEOs may be of differing minds over this issue, but it's almost certainly going to prove to be the iceberg that will sink titanic CEO compensation in the future.

It won't matter that most bosses may be on the right side of this issue, or that there's a corporate-friendly chief in the White House. Boards and bosses take note. Tension from below will ultimately cause this issue to explode if failure is rewarded more than success.

J.P. DONLON