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Old 02-21-2014, 05:30 PM
 
2,991 posts, read 4,267,088 times
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^^ Thomas J. Watson, Jr.
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Old 02-21-2014, 05:47 PM
 
16,979 posts, read 21,639,463 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano View Post
If you are talking about a publicly traded company or a company of meaningful size a weak CEO will not last long no matter who his/her daddy is.

If daddy ran the local lumber mill - sure his son or daughter could run it for a long time without interference.

Can you name a big CEO that obtained his job because of his parents?
Plenty......

Abigail Johnson-Billionaire CEO of Fidelity Investments, dad was Edward Johnson former CEO
Clay Ford- Ford Family billionaire
Dan Adams- Aflac- dad was former CEO Paul Adams
Ed Rust- CEO State Farm- dad was Ed Rust Sr
Brian Roberts- Comcast- dad was Ralph Roberts
John Hess- Hess Oil- dad was founder Leon
Steelers/Yankees both have son's running their dad's team
Loews/Marriot/Hilton all have sons running dad's hotels
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Old 02-21-2014, 06:52 PM
 
Location: Chicagoland
5,749 posts, read 10,331,662 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano View Post

Can you name a big CEO that obtained his job because of his parents?
Thomas Pritzker - or pick another Pritzker CEO
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Old 02-22-2014, 08:50 AM
 
5,125 posts, read 4,446,193 times
Reputation: 9914
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamish Forbes View Post
A combination of luck, ability, hard work, and ruthlessness.
Mostly luck.


There are lots of able, hardworking, ruthless people--but few of them are lucky enough to be chosen for grooming for CEO.
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Old 02-22-2014, 04:28 PM
 
Location: Michigan
2,198 posts, read 2,717,671 times
Reputation: 2105
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Bear View Post
It takes a variety of skills.....not the smartest, or the brightest, or the most personable, or the most cut-throat, but a balance of all of those things.

Coming from a 'good' school helps--it gets you noticed, and allows you membership in the 'club'. This helps, doesn't work for everyone, but is a plus.

You pay attention. To everything. You learn skills, and convince people by your actions that you are capable when challenges arise, be they project, task or location in nature.

You schmooze. Not to the point of becoming a kiss-a$$, but enough so that your name and qualifications are always on someone's mind.

You keep moving. You don't get bogged down in one job or one division too long. You demonstrate all of the 'honeymoon' attributes, and you don't stay around long enough for a TSHTF moment.

You socialize...job, industry, community. You are everywhere.

And finally, it sometimes comes down to luck. Look at Jack Welch, Sandy Weill, Hank Greenburg or Ken Thompson. These guys were horrible managers and left behind incredible disasters, but they did all of the above...AND they rode the wave of leverage and free money. They built huge pyramids based on free money and enjoyed the accolades that go with that. Skill? Or just good timing? Maybe they were bright enough to seize the moment, and let their followers figure out how to deal with the mess. GE still has barely recovered, Wachovia got sold in desperation, AIG got bailed out, and Citibank got some of all of the above--mostly a bail out. The guys who ran these shops into the ground are lauded as being geniuses because they were lucky, and got out before TSHTF.

Most of all, it takes hard work,. Not necessarily ethical or 'dedicated' hard work, but hard work as in 'my goal is to be a wealthy CEO' and I will do what I have to do accomplish that goal.
^^^ What he said
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Old 02-22-2014, 04:31 PM
 
Location: Michigan
2,198 posts, read 2,717,671 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by westwing View Post
Just curious have you known a big shot CEO actually went to a business school? I cannot think of any, Jobs, Buffett. Zuckerberg..even these you listed Bezos, Tim Cook, Marissa Mayer ... none of them went to business school whereas more than 50% went to engineering school like computer science. So I think it's more important to get a real skill like computer science or finance etc.. rather than go to some bauble business school.
4 of those 6 started their own company. Aside from the quality of education you receive, of course, it really doesn't matter all that much where you went to school, if at all, if you're going to start your own business and make yourself CEO.
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Old 02-23-2014, 11:09 PM
 
1,092 posts, read 1,550,842 times
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Seriously still LONG examples....do you learn nothing lol?

411 if you don't know anybody, the only way you get a CEO position is if you start your own business or have an MBA from a HSW MB7 universities. Go look at how many CEOs of -key word now- SUCCESSFUL companies got an MBA from a top tier university? Even crappy businesses get a CEO from Harvard lol

The old way of start low work way up aka American Dream is dead and has been for decades. The guy coming in as the new CFO whipping his worker bees to produce excel spreadsheets he doesn't understand has a better shot than a Junior FA who probably knows more formulas than the new CFO ever will lol
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Old 02-24-2014, 02:59 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles (Native)
25,303 posts, read 21,295,020 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EugeneOnegin View Post
4 of those 6 started their own company. Aside from the quality of education you receive, of course, it really doesn't matter all that much where you went to school, if at all, if you're going to start your own business and make yourself CEO.
I notice a lot of Stanford alum or dropouts starting tech companies..but I think it's more based on the 'culture' of the area that motivates them to do it versus the particular things they are learning in class.

It's a similar phenomenon as immigrants being more likely to become millionaires in the U.S versus people born in America.

If you are going to school in silicon valley you see people starting tech companies all the time and you are right in the center of all that.

The internet of course has changed things and there are 'mini' silicon valleys all over the world. Of course technology is a lot more ubiquitous these days too so there are more tech companies.
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Old 03-01-2014, 12:09 AM
 
Location: Missouri
592 posts, read 799,461 times
Reputation: 551
They never excuse themselves after farting.It's a sign of weakness.
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Old 03-03-2014, 02:35 PM
 
Location: USA
7,474 posts, read 7,000,916 times
Reputation: 12503
Some get there because they deserve it. Many get there by climbing the company ladder using the knives they stock in the backs of their coworkers.
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