When companies announce their CEOs are leaving, they may offer any number of vague reasons. But it’s rare that they’d ever say the chief executive was “fired” or explain precisely why.One study suggests that in the past two years, 52% of announced CEO departures from companies on the Russell 3000 Index likely were the result of executives being shown the door. That includes those who say they resigned, stepped down, just felt the time was right to leave or had a sudden urge to spend more time with family….

Based on interviews with 73 CEOs who had been fired, researchers for the CEO Genome Project found that the leading reasons for dismissal were poor business performance (30%); relationship issues with the board (26%); a lack of key skill sets (22%) and alienating the management team (12%).

Then, of course, there are also the many high-profile dismissals that have resulted from allegations of criminal and ethical misconduct.

Source: Up to half of exiting CEOs don’t quit. They get fired – CNN