One in five CEO’s now come from a marketing background

Almost one in five (18%) FTSE 100 CEOs are former marketers, according to new research from Heidrick & Struggles. This makes marketing the second most common route to the CEO position, behind only those with a background in finance (36%).

The recruitment firm’s 2017 Route to the Top study explores the backgrounds of CEOs at the top 100 companies from the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom, the Fortune 500 companies in the US, the DAX 30 and MDAX 50 in Germany, and the SBF 120 in France. And it shows the UK (18%) has a higher proportion of CEOs with a marketing background than the US (15%), France (12%) and Germany (9%).

In the consumer sector, 31% of FTSE 100 companies are led by CEOs who formerly occupied sales and marketing positions, compared to just 25% with a finance background and 19% who come from operations.

Bron en volledig bericht: Marketingweek