Undergrad engineering most often for leaders of S&P 500 companies
The CEOs of the S&P 500 companies most often have an undergraduate degree in engineering, according to a research study by Spencer Stuart, an executive search consulting firm. The research is based on the companies in the S&P 500 ranking as of April 15, 2005.
Some interesting data points from the study:
- 23% of the CEOs have an undergraduate degree in engineering, followed by 13% with degrees in economics, and 12% with degrees in business administration
- 20% of the CEOs have worked for only one company throughout their career versus 26% in 2000
- Of the CEOs who followed one functional path before becoming CEO, Finance was the most often followed path, with 15%
- CEOs following one functional path throughout their career before becoming CEO has dropped significantly from 25% in 2000 to 9% in 2005.
I find the last item listed above the most interesting. What it tells me is that, more and more, to become a leader of a large organization, successful leaders will increasingly have broad experience across many functional roles.
There are several other data points on developmental background and professional experiences of the S&P 500 CEOS included in the report. See the full report.