The Resignation Email Arrives at 6:12 A.M. What Now? | Farient Briefings
August 20, 2026
The Resignation Email Arrives at 6:12 A.M. What Now?
The next generation of CEO transition planning isn’t about names in a binder. It’s about knowing where leadership risk is building before it becomes a crisis.
Now in its fourth year, Corporate Board Member (CBM) and Farient Advisors’ annual research has followed the shifts in CEO turnover in real time—from director concern over departures, to scrutiny of CEO bench strength, to the emerging need to connect succession, retention, readiness, and rewards before a disruption occurs.
This article summarizes the first three years of our research on executive leadership and previews the questions now facing directors: creating deep, multi-year talent plans to anticipate and reduce executive vulnerability; using predictive analytics to evaluate replacement depth and retention risk; and making compensation a talent strategy rather than a last-minute fix.
The 2026 CBM/Farient report, due in CBM‘s Fall 2026 issue, will also examine the harder boardroom question: Is your succession plan ready for the moment it must work?
In the News
Cracker Barrel to Pay for Former CEO’s Security—Bloomberg
Farient Advisors’ Partner and COO R.J. Bannister was quoted in Bloomberg‘s coverage of Cracker Barrel’s decision to fund indefinite security services for outgoing CEO Julie Masino after her departure.
Bannister noted just how uncommon this type of arrangement is: “Having a company pay for post-terminated CEO security is rare.”A plausible explanation for the unusual perk, he said, likely emerged as part of the exit negotiations between Masino and the board—a detail that speaks to how executive departures are often shaped by compensation’s give and take and other terms as much as by the headlines that precede them.
Read moreThe View From Farient’s L0ndon Office
Quantum Leap? What the 2026 AGM Season Reveals About the Future of UK Executive Pay
Since 2008, shareholders have pushed hard to limit executive pay increases and establish additional features not seen in most other governance regimes (such as pension equalisation, holding periods, bonus deferral, post-employment share ownership guidelines).
This AGM season, our London colleagues report, companies have pushed through larger quantum increases and reduced or eliminated bonus deferrals, with little resistance from shareholders. Not a single Policy failed.
Read moreWhere to Find Us
NACD Carolinas’ Chapter Dinner
Charlotte, NC
September 15, 2026
Charlotte-area public company directors and CHROs join a peer exchange dinner session moderated by Farient Advisors CEO Robin Ferracone and COO R.J. Bannister on “The Risks Boards Don’t See Coming.” The conversation will move quickly from what can go wrong to what boards can do now—using compensation, retention, recruitment, and leadership development as strategic levers to keep executive transitions on track. Space is limited. For more information, please reach out to us at info@farient.com.
NACD Leading Minds of Governance and Tech
Boston, MA
September 22, 2026
NACD’s Boston Chapter once again welcomes Leading Minds of Governance and Tech. Join Farient Advisors Partner, Angela Moe, and other tech and governance luminaries for a discussion that goes beyond trends. You’ll hear how experienced leaders are approaching digital oversight, cybersecurity, audit accountability, compensation, and shareholder pressure. Hands-on sessions will work through scenarios that test how a board should evaluate strategic alternatives and respond when circumstances change.
Stay updated on the latest topics shaping compensation and remuneration committee agendas in the new year. Follow us on LinkedIn and share Farient Briefings with your colleagues.
About Farient Advisors
Farient Advisors LLC, a GECN Group company, is an independent premier executive compensation, performance, and corporate governance consultancy. Farient provides a full array of services linking business and talent strategy to compensation through a tailored, analytically rigorous, and collaborative approach. Farient has locations in New York, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, London, and Louisville, and works with clients globally through its partnership in the Global Governance and Executive Compensation (GECN) Group. Farient is a certified diverse company and is recognized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
© 2026 Farient Advisors LLC. | Privacy Policy | Site by: Treacle Media