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Become a CEO
A CEO is the ultimate position in business. Subject only to the board of directors, you're responsible for the strategy and operations of a business. You don't usually become a CEO by accident, however, this is truly a case where you make you own luck. Read on to learn how to become a CEO. -
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Introduction
- Unless you've started your own business, and retained control of it, you'll need to be selected by an independent board of directors to become a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Aside from becoming a majority shareholder so that you can appoint yourself, there are things you can do to increase your chances of becoming a CEO. You should develop personal skills and qualities that are shared by CEOs to prepare for the position. Many CEOs have MBAs from top schools, and have worked at companies whose alumni have gone on to head other major corporations.
Step 1: Personal Qualities
- The CEO is responsible for managing a company, and is ultimately accountable to either the board of directors of a public company or the owners of a privately held firm. Other executives, such as the chief operating officer, the chief financial officer, and the chief information officer, all report to the CEO. In order to be successful in the position, a CEO needs to exhibit leadership, good communication skills, charisma, financial acumen and a strong understanding of the business.
Step 2: Get an MBA From a Top School
- While not an essential prerequisite, graduating from a top MBA program can help you make connections with others who will someday be heading major companies and sitting on their boards. Additionally, the companies whose alumni are most likely to become CEOs tend to hire heavily from top MBA programs. CEO Magazine's subscribers have rated the following programs highly:
- Harvard University
- University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
- Stanford University
- Northwestern University (Kellogg)
- University of Chicago
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
- University of Michigan Ann Arbor (Ross)
- Columbia University
- Duke University (Fuqua)
- Dartmouth College (Tuck)
Step 3: Get Hired by a CEO Factory
- Certain companies have a proven track record of producing alumni who go on to be CEOs of major corporations. One in five CEOs of public companies with a market capitalization of at least $2 billion have all worked at one of these organizations:
- McKinsey
- Deloitte & Touche
- Baxter International
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Ernst & Young
- Merrill Lynch
- Motorola
- Intel
- Procter & Gamble
- General Electric
- Honeywell
- Novartis
- PepsiCo
- Disney
- ExxonMobil
- Johnson & Johnson
- IBM
- AT&T
- Citigroup
Conclusion
- While the only sure way to become a CEO is to start your own business and place yourself at the helm, you can increase the odds of being selected to run a large company by developing the personal attributes needed by CEOs, by making contacts at an MBA program, and by gaining work experience at companies known for producing chief executives.
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