“Upward mobility in most C-Level jobs is the same. All these jobs are either at their top in a firm or they are competing for the one CEO job. That means that retaining most top executives is somewhat problematic without pensions, which used to function as an anchor to the firm,” Enderle said. “Stock option vesting can provide some offset, but it hasn’t proven as effective as pensions once did. While bridging pensions was a method to overcome them, because pensions were assured by the company and were cash-based, it was far harder to do that than using a stock grant to bridge option vesting.”

CISOs with an eye on the exit often know what they want their next role to be. A more senior role in a similarly sized company or a similar role at a more prominent Fortune-ranked company are typical targets. But increasing burnout, frustration, and personal liability are leading to rising CISO job dissatisfaction, pushing many CISOs out the door. Some are eyeing vCISO roles due to the stress.

Even if no layoffs or firings happen, enterprise CISOs — along with CSOs and CIOs — have relatively brief average tenures, typically running anywhere from 18 months to 24 months. Some enterprise CISOs last much longer, but as the two-year anniversary approaches, many CISOs consider next moves.