TAFEP Hero 2024 Sep
Countries & cities with the shortest and longest-serving CEOs in the world

Countries & cities with the shortest and longest-serving CEOs in the world

Standing in 16th place is Malaysia, with an average CEO tenure of six years, while the Philippines and Thailand stand in 32nd place (5.3 years). 

Lebanon has emerged as the country with the longest CEO tenures in the world, according to recent research, with CEOs in the West Asian country riding an average tenure of 8.5 years.

The research, conducted by BusinessFinancing.co.uk, involved an analysis of 100,000 CEOs LinkedIn profiles worldwide, to determine the median tenure in years in nearly every country. Interestingly, it was found that four of the 10 countries with the longest-serving CEOs are in Asia, and four are in Europe.

The top 25 countries are:

#1 Lebanon - 8.5 years
#2 Turkmenistan - 7.9 years
#3 Greece - 7.7 years
#4 China - 6.8 years
#5 Italy - 6.7 years
#6 Venezuela - 6.6 years
#7 (tie) Portugal, Laos, Hungary, Guatemala, Haiti - 6.3 years
#12 (tie) Jordan, Nigeria - 6.2 years
#14 (tie) El Salvador, Ghana - 6.1 years
#16 Malaysia - 6 years
#17 (tie) Mali, Iran - 5.9 years
#19 (tie) Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Nicaragua - 5.8 years
#23 (tie) Costa Rica, Libya, Turkey - 5.7 years

Here's how selected markets in Asia Pacific ranked on the list:

  • The Philippines & Thailand: #32 (5.3 years)
  • Japan & South Korea: #65 (4.9 years)
  • Sri Lanka: #77 (4.6 years)
  • India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar: #80 (4.5 years)
  • Australia: #85 (4.4 years)
  • Indonesia: #105 (4.1 years)
  • Vietnam, New Zealand: #109 (3.8 years)
  • Singapore: #118 (3.1 years)

Singapore was ranked in the bottom five, tied with Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, ahead of Denmark (2.9 years) and Azerbaijan (2.8 years).



By city, Thessaloniki in Greece emerged as the global city with the longest average CEO tenure (9.5 years), followed by Laredo, Texas in the US (9.2 years), Braga, Portugal (8.9 years), Toledo, Ohio in the US (8.8 years), and Chemnitz, Germany (8.7 years) rounding up the top five.

Joining the list from Asian markets are:

  • Shenzhen, China: #8 (8 years)
  • Macau: #10 (7.6 years)
  • (tie) Wuhan, China & Chongqing, China: #11 (7.5 years)
  • Malacca, Malaysia: #15 (7.4 years)

View the full list here:


ALSO READ: How HR should handle a CEO ousting

Images & infographics: BusinessFinancing.co.uk

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top Human Resources stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's Human Resources development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window