A push by corporate governance experts, shareholders and, in some cases, regulators to untangle the chairman and chief executive positions at U.S. public companies is gaining traction.

The percentage of S&P 500 companies whose chief executives also serve as chairman reached 45.6% in 2018, compared with 48.7% the year before and the lowest percentage in at least a decade, according to data compiled for The Wall Street Journal by ISS Analytics, the data intelligence arm of proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.

The campaign to separate the positions is rooted in the notion a stand-alone chairman can act as a counterweight to a stand-alone chief executive. Recent investigations into high-profile executives have fanned the conversation.

Source: More U.S. Companies Separating Chief Executive and Chairman Roles – WSJ