2008 Woodie Awards
Most CEOs Are Ivy-Free
Tanisha Mathis
Issue date: 9/25/06 Section: Holt News
When universities such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale are mentioned, successful leaders such as real estate mogul Donald Trump, President Woodrow Wilson and FedEx founder and CEO Frederick W. Smith come to mind.
However, a glance at the diplomas of CEOs of the biggest companies conveys an interesting fact: most business leaders do not have Ivy League degrees. In fact, they attended state universities and less-known private colleges.
Costco Wholesale CEO James Sinegal went to San Diego City College, Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, graduated from Georgia State University and Sara Lee Corporation CEO Brenda C. Barnes attended Augustana College. Augustana, a Lutheran liberal arts school overlooking the Mississippi River, has graduated four other CEOs.
Students should breathe easier in the current times of stressful admission practices and runaway tuition costs. Career Services and counselors stress the need to network to students in order to grab the career of their dreams leaving many to believe the best source of networking is the high-powered alumni association from an elite school.
However, highlighting that many current CEOs gained their degrees from non-Ivy League schools is not simply an attempt to alleviate nervousness of those students who are not attending Stanford, NYU or Brown. Today's Ivy-free CEOs are in a position to hire and they know the key to success is talent, drive and leadership.
"I don't care where someone went to school, and that never caused me to hire anyone or buy a business," says Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, who graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Accenture CEO Bill Green attended Dean College, a two-year community school outside of Boston, before earning his bachelor's and MBA degrees from Babson College. He is "angered by parents who are afraid or ashamed to say their son or daughter is attending a community college."
Green credits his time at Dean with his analytical thinking skills, confidence to achieve and people skills.
However, a glance at the diplomas of CEOs of the biggest companies conveys an interesting fact: most business leaders do not have Ivy League degrees. In fact, they attended state universities and less-known private colleges.
Costco Wholesale CEO James Sinegal went to San Diego City College, Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, graduated from Georgia State University and Sara Lee Corporation CEO Brenda C. Barnes attended Augustana College. Augustana, a Lutheran liberal arts school overlooking the Mississippi River, has graduated four other CEOs.
Students should breathe easier in the current times of stressful admission practices and runaway tuition costs. Career Services and counselors stress the need to network to students in order to grab the career of their dreams leaving many to believe the best source of networking is the high-powered alumni association from an elite school.
However, highlighting that many current CEOs gained their degrees from non-Ivy League schools is not simply an attempt to alleviate nervousness of those students who are not attending Stanford, NYU or Brown. Today's Ivy-free CEOs are in a position to hire and they know the key to success is talent, drive and leadership.
"I don't care where someone went to school, and that never caused me to hire anyone or buy a business," says Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, who graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Accenture CEO Bill Green attended Dean College, a two-year community school outside of Boston, before earning his bachelor's and MBA degrees from Babson College. He is "angered by parents who are afraid or ashamed to say their son or daughter is attending a community college."
Green credits his time at Dean with his analytical thinking skills, confidence to achieve and people skills.
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