Top universities are not key to business success

The secret to success it seems is not to go to some of the world’s top universities, according to analysis of leaders of some of the largest global businesses. The study found while only a handful of the chief executives of some of the biggest world institutions went to Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge, many studied for a second or third degree. Experts suggest the findings show that where people studied has become less important as people are now judged by what they achieve in their careers and their attitude to work. Of 500 leaders, just five went to Oxford and three to Cambridge, while 25 went to Harvard and 13 to the University of Tokyo. However 113 of these went on to further study and hold an MBA while 53 have a doctorate. Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, told The Times: “Getting a good degree from a good university does not mean you get a good job.” He said employers wanted other skills including passion for their work, as well as academic qualifications. Muhtar Kent, the boss of Coca Cola, did an undergraduate degree at the University of Hull in the 1970s and then went on to do an MBA while Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, did his first degree at Alabama. The analysis of the top 500 chief executives by Times Higher Education magazine found of the British executives, Stuart Gulliver of HSBC was one of the few examples of people who went to Oxford while Nigel Wilson of Legal and General went to Essex. Philip Clarke of Tesco went to the University of Liverpool and Ian Read, who works at Pfizer, went to Imperial. Source: Education News