Good morning. The trend of CFO turnover may be continuing: At Jacobs Solutions, the first woman to serve in that role has stepped down after just seven months.
Engineering consultant Jacobs, no. 277 on the Fortune 500, announced Monday morning that Claudia Jaramillo would be departing the company “to pursue other opportunities.”
“Ms. Jaramillo’s departure was not the result of any dispute or disagreement with the company relating to reported financial statements and related financial results,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Jaramillo began her tenure as CFO on Aug. 14 after joining Jacobs in July 2022 as EVP of strategy and corporate development. She was previously at Schlumberger, an energy services company, for more than 20 years.
At Jacobs, Jaramillo succeeded Kevin Berryman as finance chief when he became a special advisor to CEO Bob Pragada. “It is also noteworthy that with Claudia’s appointment, we take a step forward in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, as Claudia becomes the first female CFO in the history of Jacobs,” Pragada wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing her promotion in August.
Jaramillo wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday: “On March 29, I handed over the CFO position. I would like to thank my team for everything that we were able to accomplish together.” She also said she appreciated the opportunity to participate in the diversity and inclusion programs at Jacobs, including providing mentorship, sponsoring the Latino employee resource group, and initiating a program to support women.
Berryman will serve as interim CFO while the company searches for a full-time replacement with the help of an executive search firm. He joined Jacobs as EVP and CFO in 2014 and was promoted to president and CFO in November 2019, then became a special advisor to the CEO in August.
‘Seller’s market’
Jaramillo’s departure was a bit jarring given a LinkedIn post she wrote early last week highlighting “a productive visit” to Denver to meet with the global tax team, and a visit to the Los Angeles office, with Friday then being her last day.
It’s too early for 2024, but a Russell Reynolds Associates analysis of CFO turnover at S&P 500 companies last year found that it ramped up in the second half of 2023. It topped out at 17.4%, slightly above the 17% figure seen in 2022. It reached a record 18% in 2021, according to the report.
The most recent volatility report from the executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates, based on data from 674 Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, shows 112 CFO departures for 2023, up from 100 in 2022, according to the firm.
Clem Johnson, president of Crist Kolder, told me that the firm actually recruited Berryman to the CFO position at Jacobs in 2014. In general, Johnson thinks the trend in CFO turnover is continuing.
“Thus far, in 2024, we have seen no discernible change in the supply-and-demand asymmetry that we observed last year,” he told me. “It’s a seller’s market.”
Another factor in CFO turnover, Johnson added, might be employee burnout in some of the most intense roles. And there’s always the possibility of poaching.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Even if there is a well-developed internal succession program and viable internal options, many companies run an external search to ensure they have fully explored the ‘realm of the possible.’”
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
María Soledad Davila Calero curated the Leaderboard and Overheard sections of today’s newsletter.
Leaderboard
John Griek was named CFO of Farmers Insurance Group, the American subsidiary of Zurich Insurance group. Griek comes from the insurance company Allstate where he served several roles, most recently VP of finance operations in the property and casualty insurance sector.
Philip Schlom is set to retire as CFO of AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ) upon completion of his current agreement that ends on Nov. 4. Jason Crawford, SVP of finance of AZZ Precoat Metals, has agreed to transition into the role of CFO of AZZ Inc.
Big deal
Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade released data from its monthly sector rotation study. The results are based on the trading platform’s customer notional net percentage buy/sell behavior for stocks that comprise the S&P 500 sectors.
In March, retail traders saw “the forest from the trees and continued their profit-taking streak with net selling in 9 out of the 11 sectors,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. However, traders saw opportunities in information technology, which came in as the top buy, followed by industrials.
"On the flip side, as interest rates remain in murky territory, traders sold heavily in real estate and financials," Larkin said in a statement. "But as the market remains strong, they also shied away from health care—a historically defensive area of the market."
Going deeper
"How Do We Control the Rising Costs of Health Care?" is an episode of the Wharton Business Daily podcast where Wharton professor of health care management Lawton Robert Burns explains tactics that can be used to lower drug prices. Burns discusses the rise of smaller pharmacy benefit managers as part of a larger pushback in an industry segment dominated by three big players.
Overheard
“The coming fiscal crisis will be triggered by a sudden loss of confidence by the general public in the federal government’s finances and on those tasked with managing them.”
— Joao Gomes, vice dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, warned in a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Budget, Fortune reported. Gomes is adding to the growing number of experts who are warning that a U.S. debt crisis is not a distant possibility and would lead to economic stagnation.
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