And although many executive contracts do guarantee severance and confidentiality in case of a loss of job, nothing is ever as smooth as people hope it will be, according to Crane.

"It isn't uncommon to allow someone to resign in advance of termination," he wrote. "But if there's a tight community (which there often is at the executive level), word would likely get around about what happened. And depending on the circumstances that led to the dismissal, the former employer could be exposed to liability if an egregious act was not disclosed and there was a recurrence."

Faced with all that, what are the career prospects of an executive who has undergone such a public termination? Pretty good, Challenger said -- as long there isn't a pattern of prior policy violations.

Scott "made a mistake and is paying for it dearly," Challenger said. "But everybody is going to know that this is an extraordinary talent. He could go and work at a start-up company or in private equity or a hedge fund. But I don't think it'd be impossible for him to go back to being a CIO someday at a high-profile or public company."