Two of the most momentous of these changes involved a single individual. Gary Forsee was forced out as CEO at Sprint, then, a few months later was picked to lead the University of Missouri system as its president. Forsee, a Missouri native and graduate of the University of Missouri–Rolla, was thought by some analysts to lack the aggressiveness needed to pull Sprint out of its rut, but is revered locally as a selfless and visionary civic leader. Though there were initial rumblings and grumblings from some faculty that a fired Fortune 500 CEO was not the kind of leader the university system needs, most of the system’s constituents seem pleased with the choice, hoping that Forsee’s gentlemanly temperament and consensus-building leadership style will be well-suited to higher education.

Forsee’s exit from Sprint resulted in a vacancy at the top of another major Kansas City-based corporation. Local landline telecom company Embarq CEO, Dan Hesse, was named to the chief post at Sprint. Some industry analysts sighed and muttered comments along the lines of “meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” but others felt that Hesse’s proven leadership and innovation at AT&T’s wireless division in the 90s will serve Sprint well.

In a rejection of his diversification strategy, Mark Ernst was pressured out as chairman and CEO at H&R Block by insurgent shareholder Richard Breeden, who was named the new chairman. Alan Bennett, a former CFO of Aetna Inc., was appointed interim CEO, but has said he’s not interested in keeping the job on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, the company awaits a new leadership team and a new direction.

At American Century Investments, CEO William M. Lyons retired (at age 51!) and was replaced by Jonathan Thomas.

This was only the latest in a spate of high-profile leadership changes at the mutual fund giant, after the departure of James Stowers III, son of the firm’s founder, James Stowers Jr.

After a tumultuous year negotiating new relationships with the University of Kansas Medical Center and other area healthcare organizations, Irene Cumming left her post as CEO at University of Kansas Hospital. Cumming, who was heralded for leading the hospital to a position of regional preeminence, now heads the University HealthSystem Consortium, based in Chicago. Bob Page was named the hospital’s new CEO.

At the for-profit hospital network HCA Midwest, president Bryan Rogers left to take another HCA post and Steve Corbeil stepped into the job. Corbeil had been a senior vice president at a regional division of Tenet Healthcare.

This November, of course, we will see another major shift in executive leadership when a new president is elected to lead the United States of America. All the current candidates for the position have promised change—a promise easier to make than keep.

Another leader promising change is the Royals’ new manager, Trey Hillman, who replaced Buddy Bell. Of all the top jobs discussed here, Hillman’s will be the toughest.