Walmsley takes HP’s top job as the CEO revolving door turns

Nearly 30% of incoming S&P 500 CEOs over the past year had already been a chief executive, double the historical average, according to data from Russell Reynolds. HP’s new chief executive, Emma Walmsley, is the latest in a parade of CEOs who have done the job before. Nearly 30% of incoming S&P 500 CEOs over the past year had already been a chief executive, double the historical average, according to data from Russell Reynolds. Many are switching industries, too, as companies favor experience over expertise. Walmsley spent nearly nine years running drugmaker GSK before HP tapped her to steer the PC maker through a memory-chip crunch. She fills the seat Enrique Lores vacated in February to run PayPal, whose longtime boss Dan Schulman now runs Verizon. Lucid poached Silvio Napoli from elevator maker Schindler. Chalk it up to a contagious case of retired-CEO-itis, perhaps, but the job itself has also changed. Sector expertise matters less than outward-facing skills: navigating tariffs, export controls, and an unpredictable Washington. “Someone who’s ‘been-there-done-that’ gives boards a sense of security, regardless of the industry,” Constantine Alexandrakis, who runs CEO search firm R