Full Description
The book answers the questions of how and where America educates its leading chief executive officers. Where are America's top executives educated? What do they study? Do they typically attend the nation's most elite colleges? Or do they, like millions of other students, choose colleges because of reasons like proximity, cost, and state pride? How important are advanced degrees to their success? Is the MBA a prerequisite for becoming a CEO? I address these questions based on a study of 344 of the country's highest profile CEOs selected to represent a wide range of organizations and businesses.
The book will establish a theme that the majority of America's most high-powered CEOs did not attend elite colleges/universities or earn an MBA or graduate from highly selective institutions. Certainly, a significant number did so and were advantaged by the opportunity, but more often they were able to fashion for themselves a high-quality education at a rich array of institutions - public and private, regional and flagship, small and large, religious and secular. What proves more important than what colleges these leading executives attended, is the kinds of deep relationships and mentored experiences they developed. I illuminate these experiences through several vignettes in each chapter.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Prestigious College and Power Executives
Chapter Two: Elected CEOs
Chapter Three: Dow 30 and Fortune 500 CEOs
Chapter Four: Foundation Executives
Chapter Five: Military Chief Executives
Chapter Six: Media Executives
Chapter Seven: Presidents and Chancellors
Chapter Eight: A Campus Guide to CEO U
