The rate of replaced chief executives in the companies all over the world grew to the record highs in 2004, a Booz Allen survey showed.

The survey showed that one in seven chief executives at the world’s 2,500 largest publicly traded companies were replaced in 2004, which is much higher than the 2003 result of 10%. The ousters in such companies as Rentokil Initial Plc and Infineon, the region’s biggest semiconductor company, led to the increase in their performance that averaged at 44% in 2003.

The surge in dismissals was mainly caused by shareholders and regulators that press companies to improve performance and boost revenues when companies face decline.

``Business has entered the era of the short-term chief executive. CEOs need an agenda that puts the company on the right strategic path, but that also produces short-terms wins that don’t hurt the company in the long run,’’ said Alan Gemes, London-based vice president of Booz Allen, in a statement.

Asia showed the highest rate for dismissed executives with the figure of 17.5% of the largest companies.

About 42% of dismissals in European companies were related to performance, the survey showed. The US showed the figure of 31%.