Interesting article that discusses the continued changing of the guard of the CEO.  An excerpt:

A record number of CEOs will leave their jobs in 2007, setting a new high for the third straight year. Expect more than 1600 chief executive officers from big, mostly public firms to vacate their corner offices���by choice or by demand. The average stay for a CEO is now 5.5 years, down from seven years in 2005. 

This continues to support the need for HR to create an HR strategy and automate the succession plan through the use of talent management tools.  Even if you cannot implement a true succession planning product, house this information in your ERP system so you have data stored online somewhere. 

Look for this trend to continue and understand how to use HR technology to support your organizations corporate strategy.  

Another infusion of knowledge.. 

Link to More Chief Executives Heading for the Door (Feb. 5, 2007)