5 of 6 C-Suite roles go to outsiders in India Inc.: CIEL HR Report

On average, each CEO has just 1.11 other chiefs at the table, compared with five to eight in most large markets

India has one of the world’s largest senior leadership pools, but very few move up inside their own company. CIEL HR’s State of Leadership in India 2026 studied 630,000 leaders in Director, VP, SVP, EVP and CXO roles. It found that 82.6 per cent of the country’s 80,000 C-suite roles went to external hires: about 66,000 leaders brought in from other organisations, against roughly 13,900 promoted internally.

According to the report, CXO roles open rarely. 43.3 per cent have been held for ten years or more, so only about 7,800 fall vacant in any two-year period, while 160,000 vice-presidents are available in the talent pool. That works out to one opening for every 21 VPs.

Six cities account for 94 per cent of CXO titles, women hold 9.6 per cent of C-suite roles, and fewer than 40 senior leaders in the entire country list Generative AI in their profiles.

CEOs make up 47.5 per cent of India’s C-suite, with 38,000 roles. On average, each CEO has just 1.11 other chiefs at the table, compared with five to eight in most large markets. The report says this means most Indian CEOs have few internal shortlist to pick a successor from.

About one-third of CEOs have less than ten years of total career experience, which suggests many are founders running companies they started. Among India’s chief executives, 83.7 per cent of these 38,000 roles were hired from outside, and 88.7 per cent are in the role for the first time. Only 4.2 per cent moved up directly from a VP role.

The layer just below the CXOs is thin. India has 2 vice presidents per chief role, whereas most large markets have three to five.

Six metros hold 66.7 per cent of India’s senior leaders and 94 per cent of its CXO titles. Eight tier-2 cities, including Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi and Indore, together have 76,000 senior leaders but only about 1,800 CXO roles. Bengaluru has only 10.9 per cent of India’s leaders and has 1,800 emerging-tech leaders, the highest among the six metros.

Strategy, Corporate Development and M&A accounts for just 0.2 per cent of the leadership pool but 2 per cent of all CXOs. That is a conversion rate of 6.67 times its size, the highest of any function. Finance, a common route to CEO in other countries, under-converts at 0.68 in India. BFSI holds 9.2 per cent of India’s leaders but only 1.8 per cent of its CEOs. The MBA also loses its advantage at the top: MBA holders rise from 21.8 per cent of Directors to 38.4 per cent of SVPs, then drop to 19.7 per cent of CEOs.

Women hold 14.7 per cent of senior leadership roles and 15–16 per cent at Director, Head and VP levels. Their share falls to 9.6 per cent in the C-suite and 8.7 per cent among CEOs. CHROs are 37.1 per cent women, while CTOs are just 6 per cent. Women are actually promoted internally more often than men, at 28.3 per cent against 23.5 per cent.

The CHRO role also has the highest turnover in the C-suite. 32.5 per cent of CHROs have been in their role for under two years, and the role turns over about 16 times faster than the CEO role.

Global Capability Centres account for about 14,500 leaders, or 2.3 per cent of the market, and they stand out on almost every measure. They have 8 VPs per chief role against 2 nationally. They promote internally 43 per cent of the time, against 22 per cent at Indian enterprises. Women make up 22.9 per cent of their leadership, against 12.8 per cent at Indian enterprises.