New research reveals that since the start of the financial crisis, CEOs of FTSE 100 companies increasingly have financial backgrounds. Between 2008 and 2012 the number of CEOs with a financial background increased by 67%.
The finding was made by the annual Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker. It showed that more than half (51%) of serving CEOs had a financial background.
The report defined a financial background as having a qualification in accountancy, holding a previous senior financial role or having worked in the banking industry.
And just random Googling:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/aug/2 … andelitismThe dominance of Oxford and Cambridge in British boardrooms is fading as more and more company bosses are drawn from other universities and from abroad.
A survey of the chief executives of FSTE 100 companies found the proportion who were Oxbridge educated had more than halved - 23% compared with 59% in 1984, the first year of the FTSE. The proportion who went to other British universities or colleges has risen from 38% to 48%.
Furthermore, 18 years ago, only 3% of FTSE 100 CEOs were educated abroad (all from the US), whereas in 2002 this figure increased to 29%, with 13% educated in the US, 10% in Europe and 6% from other parts of the world. This reflects ambitious British students choosing to study abroad, as well as an influx of European and American executives as companies become more international. Mary Long, head of Inspirational Development Coaching, who commissioned the report, said: "This reflects the increasingly international nature of both FTSE 100 business and their CEOs. While the Oxbridge universities remain indisputably at world-class level, their curricula do not yet include business vocational degrees in the same way as, say, Harvard or Insead do.
"Furthermore, an increasing number of British executives seek overseas education not only for the subjects offered but also to start networking internationally at the earliest possible opportunity."
Today's chief executive is much more likely to have a second degree, whereas only a tiny number did in 1984. Here the dominance of US business schools, particularly Harvard, is very marked. Harvard supplied 29% of second degrees, compared to 13% from Oxford and Cambridge.
Ms Long said Oxbridge would lose out further to the US unless the universities could establish high profiles for business to rival Harvard. It remains to be seen whether the recently established business schools - the Judge Institute at Cambridge and the Said School in Oxford - are educating the chief executives of the future. The survey by Winmark commented that they had yet to establish their credibility. "We believe that the trend away from Oxbridge as the prime source of first degrees for future CEOs will continue as other establishments continue to invest in building their reputations as providers of relevant, high quality, well-respected courses for undergraduates.
"Similarly, opportunities to study abroad will continue to grow as future CEOs take advantage of the still increasing opportunities to equip themselves with a high quality degree that will open up the right career paths for them, and potentially supply them with a useful international network of contacts," added the report.
In other respects little has changed. In 1984 there were no women at the top of FTSE 100 companies - now there is one: Marjorie Scardino, of Pearsons. And the popular myth of the "baby CEO" resulting from the dotcom boom is just that - a myth. The average age of today's CEO compared to 1984 has dropped from 54.6 years to 53.3 years, although there is a significant decrease in the number of years worked within an organisation before being promoted. Today's CEO has worked an average of 9.2 years in the company before being promoted, as opposed to 14.8 years in 1984.
Commenting on the difference between then and now, Ms Long said: "This reflects the fast-track techniques by which FTSE companies develop their future executives, as well as a higher proclivity to recruit people into senior jobs."
