2013

Contents
3
4

Introduction
Does your alma
mater matter?

Richard Cree looks at where

CEOs went to university
Top 10 women CEOs

Alma Mater Index:

Global Executives

Methodology

11

Country files

12

The learning curve

14

The top 100 universities

How the Alma Mater Index:

Global Executives was devised

Universities by location
The top 10 CEOs

Peter Bartram considers if an

MBA is a shortcut to the top
Top 10 MBA institutions

Profile: Justin King

The CEO of Sainsburys reveals

how his alma mater shaped
his career

Supplement editor Fiona Salvage

fiona.salvage@tsleducation.com
Account managers Matthew Clancy
matthew.clancy@tsleducation.com
Lucy Reddin
lucy.reddin@tsleducation.com
Design
Chris Barber
Sub editor Susan Wood
Also available as a digital edition
www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/executives

Alma maters are key

to the alpha jobs
Our new index shows the
link between a universitys
reputation and successful
business careers.
Fiona Salvage reports

here a person went to university has long played a significant part in his or her career.
Oxbridge was the favoured hunting
ground for recruiting British spies (and
civil servants), while a Harvard MBA on
a CV wont have turned many corporate
headhunters off a candidate.
Whether it was an inspirational
lecturer, an industry placement that got a
foot in the door or the network of friends
and contemporaries, for the vast majority
of these CEOs, university was where it
began. Of course, innumerable factors
contribute to any career path, and particularly to those leading to a really big job.
But to a greater or lesser degree, university will have played a role in many a rise
to the top of the corporate ladder.
To create the Alma Mater Index:
Global Executives we examined the
education history of the CEOs as per the
Fortune Global 500 2013. We counted
how many degrees institutions had
awarded to these CEOs and ranked them
primarily on this number. Then we looked
at how many CEOs had graduated (a
considerable number had spent their
entire higher education at one institution),
and ranked the institutions by those who
had educated the most individuals. Then
we considered how much money these
individuals companies were responsible
for, using their revenue as our measure.
Some universities in the Alma Mater
Index are as big a brand as the companies
in the Fortune Global 500; indeed, some
are even better known. The growth of
brands in the university sector has been
phenomenal, with monikers such as

Russell Group no longer being used only

by academics, but also by potential
students, their parents and in almost
every speech regarding pupil aspiration
and student/teacher recruitment from the
UK Secretary of State for Education.
Universities have always been about
developing independent learners, teaching
the value of scholarship, creativity and
free thinking. Many also aim to create
future leaders and can claim to have
educated many already.
So why look at where the CEOs of the
500 companies in this years Fortune
Global 500 attended university? First and
foremost, because it is inherently interesting. Leave two people together long
enough and one will ask the other where
(if) they went. It is more than likely that
they will make assumptions based on the
answer. About intelligence, background,
social connections and whether they
could be a useful person to know.
There is a clear leader in the number of
CEOs produced. And its unlikely to
surprise anyone. But the rest just might.
As youd expect, the Northern Hemisphere dominates the table, but the split
between East and West is much more
balanced perhaps a reflection of the
geography of the 500 companies.
However, the number of countries represented by universities is much lower than
the countries represented by companies,
demonstrating an international degree
experience is a commonality on many
executive CVs, with the majority including a spell in the US.
Including the THE World University
Rankings alongside the Index gives
another perspective a good WUR position does not seem to guarantee corporate
success for its graduates. Of course, many
institutions in the Alma Mater Index are
not eligible for the WUR as they are postgraduate institutions or do not conduct
research. But the Index is iconsidering
only those people who are running the
500 largest corporations.

THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013 3

Where you went could determine wh

Research appears to
confirm that many
potential employers
put more weight on
which university you
attended than on
what you actually
studied there, writes
Richard Cree

lenty of column inches have been

filled in recent months examining
bizarre aspects of Mark Carneys
life. During the recruitment process for
his new role as Governor of the Bank of
England, its unlikely his prospective
employer, George Osborne, was
concerned about his ability to wear shorts
well or the modern-art tastes of his wife.
He would have been interested in how
well he performed in last job, heading up
Canadas central bank. But was he also
comforted by the fact that Carney is
Harvard and Oxford educated? From the
moment the Canadian became the first
foreigner to take on the job, much has
been made of the impact his time at
Oxford had on him. But what part does
university education play in the modern
business environment? And does it matter
where you get that education? This first
ranking of the institutions behind the
Fortune Global 500 CEOs, THE Alma
Mater Index, suggests that it does.
Perhaps most striking is the benefit of
studying, as Carney did, at Harvard. The
Boston-based institution comfortably tops
the Index by every measure. The debate
as to the return on educational investment
is an old and ongoing one. Plenty of
academic research shows a correlation
between future earnings and the quality
of university attended. But how does
where you study affect a business career?
Regardless of what you study, the presence of the right institution on your CV
reassures potential employers about your
likely aptitude for the job. Mark Freebairn, a partner at top City headhunters
Odgers Berndtson, agrees with this.

New man of Threadneedle Street The fact that Canadas Mark Carney attended Harvard will have influen
There is an elite group of top universities
that stand out. If you have been to
Harvard, Oxbridge or INSEAD, that has
an impact. As a headhunter, Freebairn
says that no matter what level the post he
is looking to fill, he and the employer
both look at where a candidate studied.
A lower-class degree from a top institution is better than a first-class degree from
a less well-respected one, he argues.
For prospective employers there is
comfort in the fact that someone has been
selected ahead of a lot of other applicants.
It means they are obviously bright. Passing that selection process is an endorsement for employers.
Professor Steven Haberman, dean of
Cass Business School, part of City Univer-

4 THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013

sity London (ranked 89), agrees: Highly

ranked universities are much more selective in their intakes, so if you got into a
high-profile institution and graduated, it
says something meaningful about your
skills and potential. This can only be a
plus on your CV. But it is just one element
of what makes a strong CV.
For all the soul-searching that prospective undergraduates go through to choose
the best course to study, often with one
eye on picking a subject that will do the
most for their future career, where you
study has much more impact than what
you study. The Alma Mater Index doesnt
suggest that any one topic or type of
course leads to success. There are plenty
of specialist business schools on the list,

GETTY

here you go in business

Simon Calver, CEO, Mothercare
Simon Calver is 18
months into the
biggest challenge of
his career to date,
turning around the
previously struggling
Stock Exchange-listed
high-street retailer
Mothercare. Every day
he says he draws on
things learned at
university but also in
his career since. He
studied computer
systems at Hull
University (famously
described by

ced his appointment as Bank of England Governor

but most universities listed here are generalist institutions offering a wide range of
faculties and subjects. This supports the
view that the school matters more than
the subject. One caveat is that success in
mining and engineering companies, which
form the bulk of the worlds largest
organisations, seems to depend on having
a related specialist degree.
Freebairn concurs that, save for these
highly vocational courses, recruiters are
not concerned about the subject studied.
It is institution first, quality of degree
next what they studied comes a long
way behind. Most degrees are meant to
be up to a comparable standard so a 2:1
in history is better than a 2:2 in law.
This view is further supported by

Blackadder as one of
the great universities,
he points out, although
Blackadder was trying
to catch out a German
spy). And his approach
to the businesses he
has worked for since,
from Deloitte to Pepsi
to Dell to LoveFilm,
has been informed by
skills he picked up at
university. Its about
understanding the
systems and key
metrics that make a
business tick, he

research from the Centre for Economics

of Education, which identifies a typical
average wage premium of up to 10 per
cent for graduates from a Russell Group
university compared with those from a
modern one. A spokesman for the Russell
Group adds that the most recent research
confirms that the average salary six
months after graduation from Russell
Group universities was 22,399, more
than 3,500 higher than the average for
the rest of the sector. Graduates face an
extremely competitive job market, but it
is clear that a degree from the right
institution remains a valuable investment, she says.
According to Freebairn, this head start
really matters to future prospects. While
people still look at where a candidate
went to university, and the quality of
degree and what they studied, by the time
someone is 45 with 20 years experience,
it is less relevant. But it has an impact in
the first three to five years. By then the
advantage is established and it is difficult
for laggards to catch up.
Haberman agrees: A very important
thing, after where you study and how
well you do, is what you do with the
skills and knowledge you have acquired
and how you demonstrate what youve
learned.
He adds that leading institutions also
give students opportunities to build a
network. This can be with classmates,

explains. You have to

be able to break a
business down to work
out what makes it
work. Being able to
work out what you

need to measure is
essential.
Calver adds that he
also gained huge
amounts after
graduation from his
time on the Unilever
Companies
Management Development Scheme, the
highly regarded graduate management-training scheme. I derived
as much of importance
to my career at
Unilever as I did at
university.

lecturers and alumni, but also at the highprofile events the best schools hold, which
are attended by business associates. He
says that Cass, which has invested heavily
in its alumni network in recent years and
boosted its events programme, regularly hears from alumni that they have
relied heavily on the network of
students, alumni and other business
figures during subsequent careers.
Jim Aisner, director of media and
public relations for Harvard Business
School, says this is certainly the case for
Harvard students. Needless to say, we
think HBS adds tremendous substantive
value to a persons higher education. We
have extraordinary faculty, students, facilities and a global alumni network, he
says. Students here learn from one other
(the average entering age here is 27, so
everyone has work experience from all
sorts of backgrounds) as well as their
professors. Because students are put in the
shoes of decision-making executives every
day, the process is an education in judgment as well as one that focuses on
competence and character. Our mission is
educating leaders who make a difference
in the world.
The top 10 institutions in the Alma
Mater Index offer a good representation
of the entire index, certainly in terms of
type and location of institution. Four are
located in the US, three in France, two in
Japan and one in Korea. But, as already

THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013 5

The power of loyalty

Among the top 10
CEOs (see page 11),
one common trait
stands out when
examining their CVs.
Sadly, it has less to
do with their education and more to do
with their post-graduation careers. The
majority of the top 10
CEOs are loyal company men who have
stuck with the same
organisation either
since graduation or
from very early on in
their careers.
What this means for
the importance of
education and where
a person studied is
hard to evaluate, but

clearly there is a lot

to be said for knowing
your way around an
organisation and
having the persistence to climb the
corporate ladder.
The same is true for
the top 10 female
CEOs, (see below),
although here there is
slightly more of a
trend towards a business, finance, economics and generalist
degree, rather than
more specific engineering qualifications,
which dominate the
male top 10
(although that is likely
to be effect rather
than cause).

mentioned, the most striking thing is the

utter dominance of Harvard at number one.
By every measure Harvard beats its nearest rival twice over. Fifty-one of the CEOs
running Fortune Global 500 companies
have a degree from a US institution in the
top 10 of this index. Of these, half (25)
count Harvard as their alma mater. The
combined revenue of companies led by a
chief executive with at least one Harvard
qualification is a staggering $1,548 billion
(988 billion). Its nearest rival in terms of
financial clout is the French cole Polytechnique, whose alumni run companies
worth $917 billion. By contrast, the
University of Oxford (the highest-ranked
British institution on the Index) claims
alumni responsible for revenues of $268
billion, while City University London lays
claim to its CEOs running companies in
the Fortune Global 500 worth $85 billion.
There is an interesting split between
East and West on the list. More than half
of the institutions on the Index are in
North America and Europe. Japan also
fares well, with the University of Tokyo
ranked second in the index. It awarded 14

degrees to 13 Fortune Global 500 CEOs

who together look after companies worth
$756 billion. Perhaps predictably, Chinese
institutions also figure in large numbers,
but without any individual one yet
making the top 10. The most notable is
Tsinghua University, which is ranked at
13, and has trained seven of the Fortune
Global 500 CEOs, together responsible
for companies worth in excess of $300
billion. It is likely that future editions of
this index will include more institutions
from emerging economies. The combined
offering to this inaugural index from institutions in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and
China) economies is already significant, with
degrees awarded to 47 CEOs (almost 9 per
cent of the total), with revenues between
them worth in excess of $2,500 billion.
So in a global business landscape, do
academic institutions need global reputations to have any real impact? Haberman
says they do: Academic institutions that
want to operate on a global level need to
be known internationally to attract the
best faculty and students, and make an
impact with their research.

TOP 10 WOMEN CEOS

Fortune Company
Global
500
2013

Country CEO

Bachelors

Masters

MBA

Universidade
Federal do Rio de
Janeiro, Nuclear
Engineering

Fundao
Getlio Vargas

25

Petrobras

BRA

Maria das Universidade Federal

Graas
Fluminense, Chemical
Silva Foster Engineering

43

Hewlett-Packard

US

Margaret C
Whitman

Princeton University,
Economics

62

IBM

US

Virginia M
Rometty

Northwestern
University, Computer
Science and Electrical
Engineering

82

Archer Daniels Midland

US

Patricia A
Woertz

Pennsylvania State
University,
Accounting

122

Pertamina

IDN

Karen
Bandung Institute of
Agustiawan Technology, Industrial
Engineering Faculty,
Physics Engineering

137

PepsiCo

US

Indra K
Nooyi

Madras Christian
College

Yale University,
Indian Institute
Master of Public and of Management
Private Management in Calcutta

216

Lockheed
Martin

US

Marillyn A
Hewson

University of Alabama,
Business
Administration

University of
Alabama,
Economics

237

Westpac
Banking

AUS

Gail P Kelly

University of Cape
Town, History and Latin

267

DuPont

US

Ellen J
Kullman

Tufts University,
Mechanical
Engineering

313

Mondelez International

US

Irene B
Rosenfeld

Cornell University,
Psychology

6 THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013

PhD

Harvard
Business School

University of
Witwatersrand
Northwestern
University,
Management
Cornell University Cornell
University,
Marketing and
Statistics

TOP UNIVERSITIES IN ALMA MATER INDEX: GLOBAL EXECUTIVES 2013

Alma Mater
Index
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65

THE WUR Institution name

position
4
27
=2
=62
15
5
351-400
=59
18
52
10
19
14
226-250
=54
11
351-400
=2
351-400
56
226-250
41
226-250
=70
105
301-350
=156
6
=94
61
12
69
7
20
276-300
=171
=174
=128
58
226-250
=72
23
47
51
76

351-400

Harvard University
University of Tokyo
Stanford University
cole Polytechnique1
HEC Paris
ENA, cole Nationale dAdministration
University of Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keio University
Seoul National University2
Cornell University
INSEAD
Tsinghua University
University of Chicago
Northwestern University
Columbia University
Mines ParisTech1
Kyoto University
Yale University
Waseda University
University of Oxford
Southern Methodist University
University of Southern California
University of Witwatersrand
New York University
Korea University
Chuo University
Universitt Stuttgart
Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen
Shandong University
Technische Universitt Mnchen
Bocconi University
Sapienza University of Rome
Texas A&M University
Fundao Getlio Vargas
Princeton University
University of Notre Dame
Universitt zu Kln
San Diego State University
Pennsylvania State University
ETH Zrich Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zrich
China Europe International Business School
Hitotsubashi University
Purdue University
University of Cambridge
University of Michigan
Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC
University of Kansas
Universitt Bonn
Georgetown University
Comillas Pontifical University
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
University of Cincinnati
Erasmus University Rotterdam
University of St Gallen
Babson College
Duke University
University of Minnesota
Brown University
University of Pittsburgh
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Clark University
Polytechnic University of Turin
University of Oklahoma

8 THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013

Country
US
JAP
US
FRA
FRA
FRA
US
US
JAP
KOR
US
FRA
CHN
US
US
US
FRA
JAP
US
JAP
GBR
US
US
ZAF
US
KOR
JAP
GER
NLD
CHN
GER
ITA
ITA
US
BRA
US
US
GER
US
US
CHE
CHN
JAP
US
GBR
US
CHN
US
GER
US
ESP
JAP
BEL
US
NLD
CHE
US
US
US
US
US
BRA
US
ITA
US

Number of
degrees
awarded
31
14
13
12
10
9
9
9
8
8
8
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

Number of
CEOs

Revenue
(US$ bn)

25
13
11
12
9
9
8
7
8
8
6
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

1,548.3
755.6
492.5
916.7
616.8
695.2
405.4
428.5
706.7
473.1
375.3
440.9
301.1
489.9
323.7
545.7
532.1
384.6
330.5
304.2
268
575.3
704
369.3
327.1
180.8
160.5
357.1
324.3
129.2
158.3
284
253.8
237.8
222.9
218.7
177.8
168
161.6
160.4
139.1
137
136.1
135.4
131.3
113.3
102.7
231.1
173.8
162.2
150.1
126.9
123.1
89.6
67.5
53.3
335
218.2
213.7
207.7
188.3
183.9
174.5
173.1
173

TOP UNIVERSITIES IN ALMA MATER INDEX: GLOBAL EXECUTIVES 2013

Alma Mater
Index
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

THE WUR Institution name

position
48

87
251-275
147
118

113

9
91

201-225
28

301-350
150
351-400
21

Country

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Mnchen
Southwest Jiaotong University
University of Delhi
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Tufts University
University of San Diego
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Tianjin University
Osaka University
University of Virginia
Hanyang University
Jilin University
Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
University of Cape Town
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Sciences Po
Nankai University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Colorado Boulder
Tongji University
cole des Ponts ParisTech
University of Science and Technology, Beijing
ESSEC Business School
City University London
Queens University
University of Melbourne
Cranfield University
Wuhan University of Science and Technology
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Harbin University of Science and Technology
Wayne State University
Boston College
University of Houston
University of Toronto
Hosei University

GER
CHN
IND
CHN
US
US
HKG
CHN
JAP
US
KOR
CHN
CHN
ZAF
US
FRA
CHN
US
US
CHN
FRA
CHN
FRA
GBR
CAN
AUS
GBR
CHN
CHN
CHN
US
US
US
CAN
JAP

Number of
degrees
awarded
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

Number of
CEOs

Revenue
(US$ bn)

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

158.1
153.9
153
150.3
147.7
142.2
137.5
125.6
124.2
119.1
118.6
117.3
115.5
112.9
112.2
112.1
110.5
98.3
96
95.3
89.3
87.9
85.3
85.2
84.4
83.4
81.9
73.2
67.9
67.7
67.4
66.6
63.4
60.2
59.6

1 Carlos Ghosn is CEO of Nissan Motor and CEO of Renault. He is a graduate of cole Polytechnique and Mines ParisTech. The institutions were accredited once each
for his degrees, but the revenue calculation for each institution includes the revenue for both Nissan Motor and Renault. 2 Both CEOs of SK Holdings were awarded
their first degree from Seoul National University, so both degrees and CEOs are counted in the totals for the institution, but the revenue is counted only once.

Methodology
E

ach CEOs education has been

researched using executive biographies from sources such as company
websites (current, previous or non-executive director companies), company press
offices, current or previous company or
third-party company-authorised press
releases, university alumni announcements, university press offices, industry
association websites, conference speaker
biographies or news sources (eg, Fortune,
Forbes, Bloomberg, Reuters). Where
company or university information is not
available, news sources have, where possible, been verified with another source.
The placement of institutions has used
the following hierarchy: the total number
of degrees awarded to CEOs; the total
number of CEO alumni; the total revenue
of the alumni CEOs companies.
The methodology was as follows:

CEO(s) are as listed by Fortune in the

Fortune Global 500 2013, published in
Fortunes 22 July 2013 issue.
Where joint CEOs for one company are
listed, we have endeavoured to include
both alma mater(s) where the information
can be found, but revenue for the
company is counted only once if the
CEOs share an alma mater.
Where one CEO is listed for two
companies, the institutions are counted
only once, but the revenue for both
companies is counted.
Where a CEO has two degrees from the
same institution, the revenue is counted
only once.
Where a CEO is working a notice
period and the incoming CEO is known,
the individual listed by Fortune has been
used. Where a new CEO was in post at
the time of publication, but his or her

predecessor was named in the Fortune

Global 500 2013, we have used the CEO
listed by Fortune.
Executive education (eg, short-course
management programme) or other
courses (eg, higher nationals) that have
not resulted in a degree are not included.
Where the degree-awarding institution
has been subsumed into another
institution or has changed name, the
current name has been used.
Revenue has been calculated using US$
billion to one decimal point.
Management schools have been listed
under the parent institution.
Where a CEO has dropped out of a
degree, the institution has not been
counted for that instance.
Where information has not been found,
companies have been contacted directly,
but not all have responded.

THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013 9

UNIVERSITIES BY COUNTRY IN ALMA MATER INDEX: GLOBAL EXECUTIVES 2013

Alma Mater Index:
Global Executives 2013 by Country
The 100 institutions that make up the Alma Mater
Index 2013: Global Executives are spread over only 17
countries. The US dominates the table, with 38 in total
and four in the top 10. Another major player is France,
with six in total and three in the top six.
7

1
2
3
4
5
6

US
China
Japan
France
Germany
UK

38
15
9
8
5
4

7
8
9
10
11
12

Canada
Italy
Korea
Brazil
Switzerland
South Africa

3
3
3
2
2
2

13
14
15
16
17

Netherlands
Australia
Belgium
Spain
India

6 13 11
5
4 15
16

2
1
1
1
1

17
10

12

14

TOP 10 CEOS
Fortune Company
Global 500
2013

Country CEO

Bachelors

Royal Dutch Shell NLD

Peter Voser

Zrich University of
Applied Sciences,
Business Administration

Wal-Mart Stores

US

Michael T Duke

Georgia Tech, Industrial

Engineering

Exxon Mobil

US

Rex W Tillerson

University of Texas at
Austin, Civil Engineering

Sinopec Group

CHN

Fu Chengyu

Northeastern Petroleum
University, China,
Geology

PetroChina

CHN

Zhou Jiping

BP

GBR

Robert W Dudley

State Grid

CHN

Liu Zhenya

Toyota Motor

JAP

Akio Toyoda

Keio University, Law

Volkswagen

GER

Martin
Winterkorn

Universitt Stuttgart,
Metallurgy and Metal
Physics

Total

FRA

Christophe
de Margerie

10

Masters

MBA

PhD

University of Southern
California, Petroleum
Engineering
Nanhai Marine Research
Institute of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences,
Marine Geologic Structure

University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign,
Chemical Engineering

Thunderbird School
of Global Management,
Management

Southern
Methodist
University

Shandong Industrial
Institute, Engineering
Babson College
Max-PlanckInstitute for
Metal Research
cole Suprieure
de Commerce

Notes: Peter Voser will leave Royal Dutch Shell at the end of March 2014. Ben van Beurden was announced on 9 July 2013 as his successor and will be in post from 1 January 2014

THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013 11

Is the MBA still an express

ticket to the top?
Some people feel the degree
got them where they are
today, others query its worth
in a fast-changing global
scene, says Peter Bartram

im Cook, CEO of Apple, is one

business leader who believes an
MBA can be an entry ticket to the
executive suite of the worlds largest
companies. He told students at the Fuqua
School of Business at North Carolinas
Duke University: An MBA helps you to
work with people who have a very different point of view from your own.
For me, that was the overwhelming
value of being here not learning about
the specific rules of marketing or strategy
or operations.
There are hundreds of other CEOs
who swear that they would never have
made it to the top without their MBA.
Gary Smith, a graduate of Britains
Ashridge Business School, is one of them.
Smith, now CEO of US networking
technology company Ciena, valued at
some $2 billion (1.27 billion) says:
Without an MBA, I dont think I would
have been given the opportunity to
become CEO. Could I have become a
CEO without an MBA? I think so, but it
would have been more difficult. And Im
not sure that I would have had the confidence to take it on.
Ankur Kumar, director of MBA admissions at the University of Pennsylvanias
Wharton School of Business one of
THEs top 10 says there are three
reasons why an MBA should help ambitious managers on their way to the top.
First, the core curriculum covers topics
such as operations, marketing, strategy,
communication and leadership, which
provide a good understanding of all
aspects of business.
Secondly, an MBA programme can
provide access to a network for both
formal and informal advisers through
faculty and alumni. And, thirdly, by
navigating different interpersonal situations, you get a great lesson in decisionmaking, time management and
prioritisation, says Kumar.
But not everyone is convinced that an
MBA is such a hot ticket in a business
world that is changing faster than ever.
Candice Carpenter Olson, a Harvard
MBA and former CEO, says: My
perspective is that an MBA is no longer

Apples Tim Cook reckons an MBA provides entry to the executive suite
the requisite path to business leadership it
once was.
Olson, co-founder of the Fullbridge
Program, which provides courses that
prepare recent graduates for the workplace, says: The pace of potential
learning in a real job is much faster than
it was when the MBA was invented and
moves far quicker than any current MBA
programme. Therefore, the opportunity
cost of sitting out two years of selling,
working with customers, making presentations, and thinking about new businesses is quite high.
Olson argues that even the supposed

benefits of using business schools to build

a contacts network are not all they are
cracked up to be. There are many
effective ways to build a solid and relevant network today, she says. In any
event, that personal network will have to
be constantly refreshed and rethought in a
changing global business over the course
of a career.
Graham Clark, director of the full-time
MBA programme at Britains Cranfield
School of Management, says that whether
an MBA helps an ambitious manager
towards the CEOs chair or not depends
on the quality of the course. If its a

ALMA MATER INDEX TOP 10 MBA INSTITUTIONS

Alma Alma Mater Institution
Mater MBA Index 2013
Rank

Number of MBAs awarded

to CEOs in Fortune Global
500 2013

Harvard University

14

12

INSEAD

Stanford University

14

University of Chicago

University of Pennsylvania

16

Columbia University

11

Cornell University

42

China Europe International

Business School

22

Southern Methodist University

10

13

Tsinghua University

12 THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013

However, Vincent Bastien, who was

CEO of the luxury brands Louis Vuitton
and Yves Saint Laurent Parfum before
becoming a professor teaching on the
global executive MBA programme at
Paris HEC business school, says: An
MBA is only really useful when you are a
CEO or COO head of a company. Then
you must understand all aspects of your
business.
Former British cabinet minister
Virginia Bottomley, now chair of the
board and CEO practice at headhunters
Odgers Berndtson, says that an MBA will
certainly be one of the things she
considers when reviewing candidates for a
major CEO post.
An MBA from one of the most prestigious business schools certainly suggests
GETTY

course where you sit in a classroom and

take on board bits of management theory,
thats probably a waste of time, he says.
But if the course is focusing on aspects
of leadership in its broadest sense, then I
think an MBA is invaluable.
He says an MBA should equip future
leaders with the ability to turn ideas into
reality.Theres an old view that an MBA
is a smart-arse who knows what to do but
cant actually do it, he adds. There has
to be an implementation piece in the
course; how do you create something and
have the backbone and courage to see it
through?
Pejay Belland, director of marketing,
admissions and financial aid for the
degree programmes at Paris INSEAD
another THE top 10 business school
agrees that teaching executives to make
things happen is important. Schools such
as INSEAD prepare students for roles in
which they will need to hit the ground
running through the sheer intensity of
the programme, she says.
She also argues that the diversity of
faculty, students and cultures at top
business schools prepares CEOs to run
multinational businesses in the future.
An MBA, particularly from a top school,
can help executives to refine their skills,
broaden their knowledge of all aspects of
business, particularly in the global arena,
build their network and accelerate their
career path from an early stage.

Virginia Bottomley: MBA is old school tie

Times Higher Education

and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore present:

that the individual has great intellectual

ability, she says. They will also have
had exposure to a highly multicultural
environment exchanging views and learning from others.
But lack of an MBA would not rule out
her recommending a suitable candidate,
she stresses. But Id need to satisfy
myself the candidate had ability,
intellectual rigour and a strategic facility.
She adds: The other thing an MBA
suggests is that the individual has a useful
network, which often lasts through their
career. So the MBA has become rather
like the old school tie.
Not all MBA graduates have followed
a traditional route. Howard Collins
started his working life as a trainee on the
London Underground, driving trains and
sweeping platforms. Then he decided to
take an MBA at Westminster Business
School. That was followed by
management posts in London Underground.
Now he has just been appointed CEO
of Sydney Trains, which operates the rail
services in the Australian city. He says:
The MBA programme introduced me to
people from across the full business spectrum. These people opened my eyes to
new ways of thinking.
And the programme gave me real-life
immersion into new industries and executive exposure to how businesses really
work at board level.

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THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013 13

Whatever you do, it should be

something you enjoy
Sainsburys CEO Justin King
says experiences shared with
peers and a chance to learn
about yourself are just as
important as qualifications

igher education can be a wonderful and enriching experience, but

its not for everyone. My own
four years at Bath were hugely enjoyable
and an excellent career springboard, but
Im a firm believer that at every stage of
life people should be encouraged to
follow the path that is right for them. A
degree is by no means the only route into
a successful career, a truth that is demonstrated not least by hundreds of brilliant,
senior managers at Sainsburys.
As for me, I was educated at Tudor
Grange in Solihull a grammar school
that became a comprehensive while I was
there. Leaving with four A levels (maths,
physics, geology and general studies), I
wanted to go straight into work I was
considering accounting or joining the
Navy. But my sixth-form college provided

great encouragement, and after looking

into vocational courses at the University
of Bath I fell in love with the city and
knew immediately that this was where I
wanted to go.
I chose a four-year degree in business
administration. This gave me a good,
formal grounding and the tutorials gave
me an opportunity to test my thoughts
and ideas. As it was a sandwich course I
could gain practical experience but also
pay my own way. In retrospect, this was
one of the best decisions I ever made as it
really suited my circumstances again, its
so important to find whats right for you.
The course also gave me the opportunity to join Mars as a graduate, my first
step into the world of business. Mars gave
me a very broad range of experience early
on and the chance to work alongside
some very talented people. Its remarkable
just how many leaders in the food and
consumer goods industries now started
their careers in Mars.
Most people say that university is not
just about the learning. My course was a
close-knit group and many stay in touch
today. And it was quite an eclectic group
that included Bob Wigley, now chairman

of hibu and Expansys; Russell Senior,

guitarist from Pulp; and broadcaster Neil
Fox. Friendships forged at university can
be incredibly valuable, as can those you
make with people in the early years of
your working life, wherever that may be.
Sainsburys employs around 50,000
people under 25, so Im often asked for
advice on career paths. I dont automatically think of formal, higher education.
My advice to prospective students is
simply to apply yourself, work hard and
be tenacious. If you have an entrepreneurial streak, you should take time to
build your knowledge of your chosen field
and do your research. If you want to
learn, do something that gives you the
opportunity to apply that knowledge,
such as a vocational degree or work experience. Whatever you do, it should be
something you enjoy, that will ensure you
do it to the best of your ability.
Qualifications can be valuable and
enriching, but I always advise people to
choose carefully. I believe the experience
you share with your peers and the opportunity to find out more about yourself are
just as important as the degree or work
experience itself.

Justin King CV
2011
2010-12
2009
2009-13

2007-present
2004-present
2000-2004
1993-2000
1990-1992
1989-1990
1983-89
1983

14 THE Alma Mater Index: Global Executives September 2013

CBE for services to the

retail industry
Prime Ministers Business
Advisory Group
Honorary DBA,
University of Bath
Board of the London
Organising Committee of
the Olympic Games and
Paralympic Games
Non-Executive Director of
Staples, Inc
Chief Executive Officer
Sainsburys, Chairman of
the Operating Board.
Director of Food at Marks
and Spencer Group plc
ASDA/Wal-Mart
Hagen Dazs UK
Pepsi International
Mars Confectionery
BSc Business
Administration,
University of Bath