Chief Executive Officer

Last month, 96 CEO changes were announced by U.S. based companies, reports job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, among them the heads of Google and Advanced Micro Devices. The number is down 9% from December, but 8% higher than January 2010, when 89 CEOs left their corner offices behind.

The number of chief executive officers leaving their posts in October fell to its lowest level in 18 months, according to a new report released today. The drop seems to show that the volatile job market, at least among corporate chiefs, appears to be stabilizing.

It's not unusual for a departing chief exec to maintain some involvement with the corporation he or she led, usually by holding onto or taking a position on the company's board of directors. That can be a bad idea. Consider GM's Ed Whitacre.

Considering how often airline industry executives complain about how hard it is to run a profitable carrier, one might expect their efforts could go unrewarded -- at least monetarily. Not so at the new United Continental Holdings, where big post-merger raises are coming for top management.

Former Cisco Systems senior vice president Tony Bates has answered Skype's call for a new leader. He's signed on as the Internet-telephone service's CEO, replacing Josh Silverman, who had headed eBay's Shopping.com division before taking the top spot at Skype since 2008.

The new incoming CEO will need to convince shareholders that GM, which is only a year out of bankruptcy and has posted just two profitable quarters, is a worthy investment. He'll also have to make sure the carmaker's dramatic turnaround is built to last.

Macy's (M) CEO Terry Lundgren said he's "encouraged" by the level of buying activity at the company's Herald Square store in New York City Friday. The day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. is nicknamed Black Friday because it's the day when many retailers become profitable for the year. Macy's...