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How crucial is it for a CEO to have an MBA degree? Not much, it seems. We have eight of the
top corporate figures in India lined up here. They have no business degree, yet have made it big
in the business world.

The Harvard Business Review published a 'CEOs and MBA' story in January this year. It was
based on a study done by three professors from INSEAD, who examined the long-term
performance of about 2000 CEOs during their tenures. Though the study found CEOs with MBA
performing better than CEOs without MBA, only 14 CEOs out of the Top 50 had an MBA
degree.

The highest ranked CEO with the degree was Cisco Systems' John Chambers at No. 4. The other
four CEOs with MBA in the top ten included Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani (5), eBay's
Meg Whitman (8), and Monsanto's Hugh Grant (10).

The best CEO as per that study was Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who does not have a business
degree. Other non-MBAs in the top 10 included Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos and Google's Eric
Schmidt.

So, what makes a good CEO?


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She did her schooling in Bishop Cotton Girls School and went to Mount Carmel College,
Bangalore. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Bangalore University
in 1973.
Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. A recipient of
numerous international awards, Shaw was termed India's Biotech Queen by The Economist and
Fortune and India's mother of invention by New York Times. She also figured in Time
Magazine's the 100 most influential persons of the world in 2010.


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The co-founder of Infosys Technologies and currently the non-executive Chairman of the
company has a degree in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Engineering. He
went on to do his Masters from IIT Kanpur in 1969.
Infosys became an international brand during his tenure from 1981 to 2002. His estimated net
worth is $1.6 billion.


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The former CEO of Infosys Technologies is currently the Chairman of the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI).
He did his schooling at Bishop Cotton Boys School, Bangalore, and St Joseph's High School
Dharwad. He graduated with a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Bombay.




The founder, chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises has a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Punjab University, Chandigarh.
Mittal built the Bharti group along with his brothers. Airtel now serves over 110 million Indian
customers, becoming the largest telecom operator in the country.


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After graduating from the National Defence Academy and serving the Army for eight years,
Gopinath launched the first low-cost airline in India--Air Deccan. Vijay Mallya bought it later
and merged it with Kingfisher Airlines. In 2009 Gopinath started Deccan 360 freight and
logistics operation.

After a village school, he completed his schooling at Sainik School Bijapur. He then joined the
National Defence Academy and graduated from the Indian Military Academy as a commissioned
officer.


 


The founder-chairman of Dr. Reddy's Labs and chairman of Dr. Reddy's Foundation (DRF)
Reddy spent his early years in the village of Tadepalli near Guntur. He graduated from the local
high school and got his Bachelor of Science degree from AC College, Guntur. Then he did BSc-
Tech in Pharmaceuticals and Fine chemicals from Bombay University and a PhD in chemical
engineering from the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories put an end to India's dependence on drug imports in the mid-1980s. It
can boast of an export industry now. The first company to take up drug discovery research in the
country, Dr. Reddy's Labs became the first Indian pharmaceutical company to be listed on the
NSE. It is now India's second largest pharmaceutical company.


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Goyal founded Jet Airways. He was the 16th richest man of India in 2006, as per Forbes
magazine. As Jet Airways manager, he went on to take over Air Sahara. Jet Airways emerged as
a big player in Indian air under his leadership. He has a degree in Commerce from Vikram
College, Patiala.


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Nirma is a legend in Indian business world. The Rs 2500 crore Nirma group started its journey
with Patel on his bicycle.
Patel did his BSc Chemistry and worked as a lab technician. Named after daughter Nirupama,
Patel started selling Nirma washing powder, taking the products to the neighborhoods on his
bicycle. Rest is history.