Which European Cities Have the Oldest CEOs? There’s a Portuguese Woman in the Spotlight – Executive Summary

A new study has looked at the world’s cities and countries with the longest-serving CEOs, with seven European cities in the top 20: A new analysis by BusinessFinancing.co.uk has looked at the world’s cities and countries with the longest-serving CEOs, analysing the biographies of 100,000 CEOs from around the world.

The Greek city of Thessaloniki came in first, with an average CEO tenure of 9.5 years. After overcoming the country’s debt crisis in the wake of the global banking crisis of 2007-08, Greek cities appear to be thriving. Thessaloniki is now a growing European hub for technology, life sciences and entrepreneurship, competing with cities like Lisbon. The Greek city has attracted investors and businesses alike.

Furniture e-commerce company Pakketo, sustainable mining company EcoResources and Web3 company Mysten Labs are among the most popular startups operating in Thessaloniki. Global giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft have also invested heavily in the city, in the form of regional cloud computing hubs and other facilities, Euronews reported.

Portugal is very popular with businesses.

Braga came in third with an average of 9.2 years of activity. In recent years, Braga has established itself as a major technology and business hub in the north, as well as for companies looking to move away from busy Lisbon.

Germany, the UK and Italy also value long-term CEOs.

In fifth place is the German city of Chemnitz, where CEOs tend to stay in the role for 8.7 years. In sixth place is the UK city of Hereford, with an average tenure of 8.6 years. Southend-on-Sea and Stirling, also in the UK, came in 11th and 18th respectively, with average CEO tenures of 7.5 years and 7.3 years.

In Florence, Italy, which ranks 20th, the average CEO tenure is 7.1 years.

Outside Europe, according to the study, the countries with the longest-serving CEOs are Lebanon, with an average of 8.5 years, Turkmenistan, with an average of 7.9 years, and China, whose CEOs have an average of 6.8 years.