The latest Route to the top study by Dr Elisabeth Marx highlights the changing career profiles of CEOs leading the UK’s FTSE 100 companies.
The study is based on the FTSE Index of May 2005. Information on the background of CEOs was collated from Who’s Who, annual reports and media coverage.
Whereas at first sight, the profile of a typical CEO of a FTSE100 company does not seem to have changed very much in that it is still mostly a he, 52 years of age, and likely to come from an accountancy background, a closer analysis of the data shows a remarkable shift in the career pattern and appointment of CEOs.
The most significant findings are… The international experience of CEOs (fig.1) has increased quite dramatically over the years. Whereas in 1996, only 42% of CEOs of FTSE100 companies had international experience (defined as having had an overseas assignment), this figure rose to 6% in 2002 and is at 79% in 2005. This clearly underpins the requirement of an international background for the top positions in this country. The majority of the international experience was gained in North America and Europe, less so in the growth regions of Asia and South America.
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