Founder CEO identity is one of the influencing factors of CEO dismissal. Public company data of the US were utilized to explore the influence of founder-CEO identity on corporate performance and CEO dismissal. Non-founder CEO are more likely to be dismissed than founder-CEOs regardless of firm performance. A drop in performance can lead to the firing of non-founder CEO. In contrast, the reason why founder-CEO are more likely to be dismissed when they perform well is not because they perform well, but because factors within the board and the organization play a major role. This study deepens the interpretation and understanding of the strategic decision-making process of dismissal of founder-CEO and non-founder CEO in the case of fluctuations in performance level, which has theoretical and practical significance.