Out of public view, succession planning is a key issue at three pivotal Tar Heel companies. North Carolina's corporate leadership may see major changes this year, with three veteran CEOs of the five largest public companies at or near the traditional tipping point of age 65. Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Lynn Good of Duke Energy and William "Bill" Rogers of Truist haven't signaled their intentions. But their departures wouldn't be surprising to close observers. To be sure, CEOs are staying longer than ever. More than 40% of the CEOs at companies comprising the S&P 500 Index of major companies are 60 or older, an all-time high, according to the Conference Board and the ESGauge research firm. "It used to be that the prime CEO years were 45 to 55, but now CEOs are asking boards if they could stay longer," says Richard Leblanc, a corporate governance expert who teaches at Canada's York University. "If you have a performing CEO, there's no reason to change, simply for change's sake."