The routes to the top

Which professional backgrounds lead to the CEO’s office?

Grid of CEO functional backgrounds in 13 countries, showing the share of 674 CEOs from finance, general management, manufacturing/engineering, sales/marketing, operations, legal and strategy. Finance leads in most markets, with 35% in the UK and Portugal. The full breakdown is in the table below the article.

CEO functional backgrounds across 13 countries: historical snapshot of 674 CEOs, share of CEOs (%).

A historical comparison of 674 CEOs across 13 markets reveals some interesting differences:

UK and Portugal: finance backgrounds accounted for 35% of CEOs.
Netherlands: sales and marketing led at 28%, ahead of finance at 20%.
France: general management led at 23%, versus 16% for finance.
Norway: legal backgrounds accounted for 12%, the highest share in this sample.

Finance was the largest—or joint-largest—category in 11 of the 13 markets. But it was far from the only route to the top.

How to read it

These are functional-background classifications, not university degrees or evidence that a particular profession makes a better CEO.

About the data

Historical snapshot: Heidrick & Struggles’ 2018 study of selected large-company CEOs. Industry composition differs across markets. Selected categories are displayed; strategy is not equivalent to consulting.

The figures from the chart

CEO functional backgrounds in 13 countries: share of CEOs in each market (%), historical snapshot of 674 CEOs (2018).
Country	Finance	General management	Manufacturing / engineering	Sales / marketing	Operations	Legal	Strategy
UK	35	17	7	17	11	1	2
Portugal	35	30	5	5	15	no value shown	5
Italy	33	25	13	5	13	no value shown	8
Sweden	33	27	7	20	3	no value shown	7
Switzerland	31	15	15	15	10	2	4
Spain	31	25	8	3	11	6	3
USA	29	22	12	8	14	7	3
Finland	28	20	20	16	12	no value shown	4
Germany	26	23	19	8	4	4	4
Denmark	26	16	16	26	11	no value shown	no value shown
Norway	24	20	4	12	16	12	no value shown
Netherlands	20	24	no value shown	28	16	4	8
France	16	23	15	7	7	4	7

Selected functions; rows need not total 100%. Legal is not the same as a law degree; strategy is not the same as consulting.

Discuss on LinkedIn

Which background do you think best prepares someone to lead a business—and why?