- The baby boomer generation is celebrating their last dance as leaders.
- Generation X leaders are stepping up to replace their predecessors.
- From politics to corporate giants like Boeing, HSBC, and Costco, young leaders are taking over.
It seems like time is running out in the final days of the boomer era.
The changing climate has been brewing for some time, but the leaders born from the 1940s to the mid-1960s who still lead the global order appear set to cede their long-held positions to their successors: Gen X.
The unrest within the Democratic Party has highlighted this transition. While President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from this year’s presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor technically involves members of the Silent Generation ceding allegiance to boomers, it’s still a major shift in a race that once pitted an 81-year-old against a 78-year-old.
Harris is 59 and was born on October 20, 1964 — putting him just a few weeks outside the Gen X range generally considered to encompass 1965 to the early 1980s. Spiritually, though, Harris seems like a Gen Xer — and even pop star Charli XCX calls him a “bad boy.”
That gives Harris a few years ahead of Barack Obama, a late boomer born in 1961.
Of course, former President Donald Trump is the man Republicans are counting on to return them to power. But with Harris now holding enough delegate support to secure the Democratic nomination, and with Trump picking 39-year-old Sen. J.D. Vance (a millennial) as his running mate, the future of American politics suddenly looks a lot younger than it did just a few weeks ago.
It would also be the first time in decades that someone with the surname Bush, Clinton, or Biden would not be on a presidential ticket (Obama ran against John McCain and Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012, respectively, with Biden as his vice president.)
Politics is not the only place where this transition occurs.
In April, HSBC’s 62-year-old chief executive, Noel Quinn, announced he would step down from the role he had held for more than four years. Georges Elhedery, a 50-year-old Gen Xer who served as the bank’s chief financial officer, was named CEO last week.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun, 67, will step down at the end of the year after a series of safety issues emerged following the 737 Max crashes. His replacement has not been confirmed, but one name being floated is his Gen X lieutenant Stephanie Pope.
In January, Costco Gen X veteran Ron Vachris replaced 71-year-old Craig Jelinek as the grocery retailer’s CEO, while Macy’s named Tony Spring, 58, as CEO earlier this year.
With this transition, some of the strongest American companies once led by boomers will be under the control of Generation X, who currently lead giants like Microsoft, Google, Walmart, Tesla, Amazon, and ExxonMobil.
Some of the baby boomer generation is still hanging around
Of course, there are some boomers still standing.
On Wall Street, 68-year-old Jamie Dimon has been CEO of JPMorgan since 2006. David Solomon, who is in his early 60s, has led Goldman Sachs since 2018. In other financial sectors, giants like Blackstone and BlackRock are led by people in their seventies.
In the media world, 73-year-old Bob Iger remains in control of Disney, where he served as CEO from 2005 to 2020, when parks chief and fellow boomer Bob Chapek took over. Iger returned to his old job in 2022.
In Silicon Valley, 63-year-old Tim Cook has overseen Apple longer than some of his fellow CEOs across corporate America, having taken over from Steve Jobs in 2011. Nvidia’s 61-year-old boss, Jensen Huang, also remains at the company he founded in 1993.
Even so, those who remain seem ready to hand over power to a younger leader eventually.
In May, Dimon, who has repeatedly teased for years that his retirement was “five years away,” told shareholders that his retirement was “no longer five years away.” Top officials mentioned as potential successors, such as Jenn Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh, are true Gen Xers.
Meanwhile, Iger said in November last year that he would “absolutely” step down when his contract expires in 2026. Could the House of Mouse soon have its first Gen X leader?
Time will tell what that transition means for workers. The picture is not yet entirely clear about how Gen X bosses will differ from their predecessors on things like remote work and the role of AI in the workplace.
However, it won’t be long before Gen X takes full control of the power. We’ll find out later.
Correction: July 24, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated President Joe Biden’s generation. He is a member of the Silent Generation, not a baby boomer.
