CEO duality: how many hats are too many?

Purpose This paper aims to concentrate on the prevailing agency theory along with its complementary theory of stewardship as foundations for the authors' research. Recent economic turmoil within the USA has resulted in stakeholders demanding change within governance policies of corporations. One such adjustment has been the separation of the CEO and Chairman positions within organizations. The authors' study seeks to uncover the extent to which duality CEO relationships exist in large corporations within the USA. In light of the push towards splitting the dual roles, the authors further investigated new CEOs recently appointed into the CEO position. Design/methodology/approach Companies selected for this study were the top 500 revenue‐producing companies in the USA as published by Fortune magazine in 2008. For comparison purposes, the authors' database included newly appointed CEOs coming on board with the original 2008 companies that had remained on the listing for both years as published by Fortune in 2010. The authors' 2008 database included 500 companies and their 2010 database included 86 companies. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was the product classification used in order to establish the principal industry sector for companies under analysis. Findings The authors' 2008 analysis reveals that 303 CEOs hold a combination title of CEO and Chairman. The most frequent title combination is CEO and Chairman, with 156 executives holding this combined title. The authors' 2010 analysis reveals that 33 new CEOs hold a combination title of CEO and Chairman. The most frequent title combination is CEO and President with 43 executives holding the title. The authors' analysis of retired CEOs reveals that 15 retired CEOs continue serving in the capacity of Chairman of the Board of Directors. Research limitations/implications Using the top 500 companies in the USA, based upon sales revenue, did limit the study to large corporations within the USA. Originality/value The agency theory does provide an explanation of the duality movement witnessed in corporations. The practice of splitting duality roles of CEO and Chairman within public corporations appears to be becoming a reality within the USA, whether on a voluntary or a mandatory basis in order to enhance corporate independence and transparency.