Best field to start in if you're eventual goal is to become a C.E.O.

Graduate School Business School - MBA
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<p>Now, I've done a lot of researching on this topic, and I've gotten a lot of mixed answers. I'm sure it depends on the 'type' of company you're aiming to run to some extent. But I was hoping that I could still get some helpful feedback here. I have heard that the best area to start in if you're hoping to eventually become the CEO of a major company is...</p>

<p>Accounting, Finance, or Marketing. Is this true? Are these really the big three? Are there other big ones? Is one of these three better than the other two?</p>

<p>Thank you in adance for any help!</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Blue</p>

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<p>On a per capita level the statistics seem to show that engineers have the easiest path, statistically to be a Fortune 500 CEO.</p>

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<p>Look, there is no generalizable pathway toward becoming a fortune 500 CEO. Your stated goal is evidence only of superficial, blind ambition- the occupation of “CEO” does not, outside of the context of a specific company, have any content. To become a CEO, one must be very knowledgeable, and hopefully passionate, about the niche(s) the company fills and/or the services it provides; in addition to having unusual communication/public speaking abilities and often a high level of intelligence. Also, the appointment of a CEO is usually arbitrary- the result of politics within and among the board of directors and upper management. </p>

<p>Explore many fields of business and find that which interests you most- something that you are passionate about and that you are suited for. The pursuit of a career in that field will give you the best chance of success.</p>

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<ul>
<li>What classes should you take if you want to become a leader?</li>
<li>What schools should you attend to become POTUS?</li>
</ul>

<p>There are some things you can learn in a classroom and there are some things you simply can not.</p>

<p>Intangible qualities that are not readily quantifiable by a “test” are usually some of the most important qualities that companies / board of directors look for when hiring a CEO: communication skills, “big picture thinking”, managerial skill / style, ability to motivate people, ability to get people to listen / act – basically, leadership skills.</p>

<p>Can you learn to become a leader? Sure you can. But you’ll still be a step behind a natural born leader who is motivated, talented and has an opportunity to demonstrate those skills.</p>

<p>Anyways, the easiest path to become CEO is simply to start your own company.</p>

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<p>well…i had read some things along the lines of “HR people very, very rarely become CEO’s”…so…I was wondering if there was a pecking order of some sort.</p>

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<p>More important than everything else mentioned so far:</p>

<p>One must be lucky.</p>

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</p>

<p>With respect, you are still missing the boat. What if you have the skills, interest and abilities to become an incredibly successful HR person? (besides, it’s funny that HR depts are constantly being picked on as some kind of corporate backwater – it’s incredibly important nowadays – just look how important hiring the right people are – human capital and retaining the best people, its arguably THE most important asset any company has – people laugh but HR heads are very powerful in large corporations and are typically in line for upcoming COO positions, but I digress…) Are you going to forgo a certain field because “path to CEO” looks a bit dimmer? You’ll already be limiting your options from day 1. Why do that?</p>

<p>Let’s start with brutal facts for a moment. You will not become CEO of a major publicly traded company. I’m sorry, but sheer odds are against it. There, I’ve said it. But so what? You CAN be incredibly successful doing something in business, and you should absolutely aspire to achieving that. </p>

<p>But if you insist, perhaps getting an MBA from HBS / Wharton and working for McKinsey / D&T might be a good place to start:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-become-a-ceo[/url]”>http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-become-a-ceo&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://ww-success.com/blog/index.php/2008/01/14/how-to-become-ceo-ceo-factories/[/url]”>http://ww-success.com/blog/index.php/2008/01/14/how-to-become-ceo-ceo-factories/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>(p.s. and if you do happen to become CEO someday, believe me, it won’t be because you “chose the right field from the beginning”)</p>

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<p>Mr Payne, engineers in what field? Or what major/course of study and grad degree?</p>

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<p>As the prestige said, there is no “path” to CEO,
but the most likely route that I could think of would be to attend HBS or Stanford GSB then go to work at McKinsey (or secondarily BCG/Bain) for a few years until you could transition into an executive position at one of your clients. Check out the McKinsey website for some more on this.</p>

<p>PE or Entrepreneurship are good routes as well.</p>

<p>But, as I’m surprised Sakky hasn’t pointed out already, the real talent isn’t looking to be CEO of a big company. Instead, they’re looking for the top VCPE/HF jobs where you can make way more than most CEO’s do. Most top people view a fortune 500 executive job as a form of retirement.</p>

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<p>VCPE/HF ? What do you mean?</p>

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<p>Fastest way to be a CEO is to start your company. You can be the CEO of your own landscaping company or plumbing company.</p>

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<p>vcpe - venture capital & private equity</p>

<p>hf - hedge fund</p>

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<p>^How do you start your company? Can you do it more with an MBA, or some sort of other degree?</p>

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</p>

<p>The concept is quite simple - here you go in 15 easy steps:</p>

<p>1) Create a product or service that meets an existing or creates a new demand / customer need (hint: make sure that you can eventually make a profit doing so. oh and its also nice if this “new” thing is scalable and other people can’t easily copy you). </p>

<p>2) Create a business plan. (You know marketing, cash flow analysis, etc… hint: here is where your MBA “stuff” comes in handy)</p>

<p>3) Go get funding (bank, loan, VC, etc… hint: here is where your MBA “stuff” also comes in handy)</p>

<p>4) Make yourself CEO.</p>

<p>5) Start making $$$.</p>

<p>6) Expand your company by hiring overpaid Harvard / Wharton MBAs (hire a Haas MBA for RML).</p>

<p>7) Take your company public (hire Goldman Sachs since they’ve been having it pretty rough lately).</p>

<p>8) Takeover a few companies (use loads of leverage for this - Citi and BoA will be tripping over themselves if the numbers are big enough – if its a small potatoes loan though, fuggedaboudit).</p>

<p>9) Land on the cover of Fortune 500. (don’t be an idiot like Tiger Woods, be like Jeter, play the field, date every single girl on the cover of FHM for at least a couple of years, pick the next generation Minka Kelly and settle down).</p>

<p>10) Donate $$$ to a Presidential campaign, meet, befriend and play golf with the POTUS.</p>

<p>11) Become a bloated organization that lacks focus and has no vision (hint: blame it on the Haas MBA, I knew he’d come in handy).</p>

<p>12) Hire McKinsey & Co. to solve your problems.</p>

<p>13) Lay off a bunch of people and sell assets.</p>

<p>And after you have created and destroyed enough value:</p>

<p>14) Embezzle enough money before the board, shareholders, SEC and the IRS catch wind.</p>

<p>15) Call the POTUS to pardon you and then retire on some uncharted island in the South Pacific.</p>

<p>Did I miss anything?</p>

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<p>I want to be CEO of a film studio, how do I go about doing that? I want to be president of production or something if not CEO.</p>