Finance professionals are more likely to become the CEO of a FTSE 100 company than executives from any other background.
This is the key finding of the annual Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker. According to the tracker, over half (52%) of current CEOs have an accountancy or finance background compared with 21% who have a background in engineering/natural resources, 9% in retail/hospitality, 8% in marketing/advertising, 4% in technology and 6% in other sectors.
Meanwhile, 12% of CEOs moved from a previous finance role within their existing company, showing immediate progression from CFO or another finance role to the top job. Overall, 10 of the 18 CEOs who were new to the FTSE 100 between 2012 and 2013 had a finance background.
The average FTSE 100 CEO is aged 53 and male, and there are just three female leaders in the index. Meanwhile, the gender imbalance has stagnated with 17.3% of FTSE 100 board directors being female, down 0.1% from last year.
Sally Percy is editor of The Treasurer