One out of every three externally appointed CEOs in Australia’s top companies holds an MBA, according to new research from management consulting firm Booz & Co.
The 2012 Australian Chief Executive Study analysed trends in the appointment of CEO’s to ASX200 companies from 2009-2012.
The report showed 33% of externally appointed CEOs held and MBA. The average age of new appointees was 52, 7% were female and 33% were from outside Australia.
Compared with externally appointed CEOs, those internally appointed were, on average, two years younger, less likely to have an MBA (25%), and less likely to be from outside Australia.
“This could indicate that companies in Australia are more willing to take risks on hiring younger or less experienced CEOs when they’re appointed internally, but prefer to hire more conventional CEOs when they’re recruiting from outside the company,” the report said.
In Australia, there has been a trend towards internal appointments, a reversal of the movement towards externally recruited CEOs that marked 2009 and 2010.
In 2012, 60% of appointments were internal. This increase in internal appointments was coupled with the lower percentage of forced turnovers, indicating that companies are taking more care in planning CEO successions.
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