Executive tenure refers to the length of time a senior leader remains in a role before departing — voluntarily or involuntarily. Research consistently shows that VP and C-suite tenure at growth-stage technology companies has declined over the past decade. Average VP of Sales tenure at SaaS companies is now 18–24 months. Short tenure is both a cost driver (replacement search costs 2–4x annual salary including lost productivity) and a strategic risk (frequent leadership turnover creates organisational instability).
Why Executive Tenure Is Declining
Several structural factors are driving shorter executive tenure at growth-stage companies: the pace of company scaling means many executives are promoted or hired past their current capability, leading to early departure; equity cliff dynamics mean executives often reassess their position at the 12–18 month mark; and the supply of executive talent is thin enough that executives are constantly approached with competing opportunities.
Involuntary turnover (terminations) accounts for approximately half of executive departures at growth-stage companies, according to survey data from CEB and Korn Ferry. This suggests that a significant portion of short tenure is driven by mis-hire (wrong role definition, wrong candidate assessment, or wrong onboarding) rather than voluntary departure alone.
Executive Tenure Benchmarks — Growth-Stage SaaS
The Cost of Low Executive Tenure
Short executive tenure is expensive at multiple levels: direct search costs (20–25% of salary for replacement search), severance (3–6 months of salary for involuntary departure), lost momentum while the role is vacant (typically 60–90 days before a replacement is placed), and ramp time for the new executive (90+ days to full effectiveness).
The compounding effect: a VP function that turns over twice in 4 years has spent most of that period without a functioning leader. The team, the process, and the results reflect 4 years of discontinuity. This is why hiring quality at the executive level — measured by tenure and performance — is worth a premium.
“Short VP tenure is rarely a talent supply problem. It's an intake problem (wrong role definition), an assessment problem (hired on impressions not evidence), or an onboarding problem (no 90-day clarity). All three are fixable — if you're willing to invest in the process before the hire rather than rebuilding after the departure.”
What Drives Long Executive Tenure
The factors most consistently associated with long executive tenure are: a rigorous intake that defines the right success criteria (not just a job description), an evidence-based assessment process that matches the candidate to the actual requirements of the role, a structured 90-day onboarding that sets clear expectations, and a CEO who manages the executive relationship with intentionality rather than assuming it will work itself out.
Stage fit and founder fit are also significant predictors. Executives who are precisely matched to the company's current stage and who have compatible working styles with the CEO tend to stay longer and perform better than executives hired on resume credentials alone.