Describes the tenure and contract experience of approximately 300 UK chief executive officers (CEOs) in 1993. Draws on the results of a retrospective postal questionnaire and examines whether the recommendations of the Cadbury report regarding contract provision of senior executives are being adhered to. The results of this descriptive exercise show that the median contract length of a typical UK CEO in a large company is three years. This is in line with the recommendations made by the Cadbury report. We find that on average such CEOs have been with their company for about five and a half years. Argues that, as a matter of good policy, companies should reveal the reasons for the length of the contract received by the CEO if this exceeds 12 months.