More global experience and diversity seen among CEOs

A new survey by Study.EU shows that 28 per cent of India’s top CEOs have an MBA, though 72 per cent of them hold a Master’s degree in some other field, while all of them have a Bachelor’s degree.

The survey looks at the CEOs of the largest public companies on each continent according to the Forbes Global 2000 company ranking of 2017. In total, the resumes of 231 CEOs were analysed. The analysis considered a candidate’s highest academic degree, whether they studied abroad (meaning at least one semester of university-level education), their age, gender and nationality. Globally, 97 per cent of those surveyed have at least a Bachelor’s degree; 64 per cent a Master’s degree or equivalent (including MBAs); and 10 per cent a doctoral degree.

It also shows that 32 per cent of the world’s top CEOs did part of their university studies abroad.

The data reveals a clear trend towards more international experience and diversity among CEOs: when looking only at the youngest third of the sample, the share of CEOs who studied abroad increases significantly to 41 per cent, and the share of foreign nationals rises to 27 per cent. This trend is expected to continue in the future, as student mobility in the general population has increased dramatically over the past few years.

This implies that future generations of CEOs are even more likely to have studied abroad than today’s top managers.

Surprisingly, although most of the world’s global players are US-based, among all CEOs in the sample, Americans have the least international experience: only 11 per cent studied abroad, the lowest number for any region in the sample.

Africa has the largest percentage of CEOs who have studied abroad, at 65 per cent, the highest value for any region in the dataset, followed by Central and South America (41 per cent), Australia (30 per cent) and Europe (36 per cent). Only 19 per cent of Indian CEOs have studied abroad.

Meanwhile, 18 per cent of the leaders are foreign nationals, with Australia having the highest share of 43 per cent, followed by Europe with 36 per cent. In India, 3 per cent of CEOs are from other countries.

“Studying abroad is one of the best ways to get to know foreign cultures and different perspectives,” says Study.EU CEO Gerrit Bruno Blöss.

“While international study and work experience can’t replace actual diversity, it enables top management teams to look at strategic challenges from different points of view. Of course, this is true at all hierarchy levels of a company, not just in the boardroom.”

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