A new analysis ranks the University of New South Wales, Australian National University, Macquarie University and the University of South Australia as the best.
The paths to becoming a chief executive are many. But Elizabeth Gaines’ accension to the top of Fortescue, or Matt Comyn’s to the plumb role at Commonwealth Bank could be as much a function of nurture as it is nature, according to new analysis.to see which universities have a track record of developing strong leadership.“It’s clear that there are some universities with the right ingredients to create successful CEOs,” Preply student success manager Amy Pritchett said.
“CEOs beget CEOs,” said Eric Knight, dean of Macquarie Business School, which counts Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott and Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines among its alumni. Google chief executive Melanie Silva and CBA chair and former CEO of Cochlear Catherine Livingstone both did bachelor degrees at Macquarie University.Former FFA chief executive David Gallop graduated from ANU.“When a student joins they see a future version of themselves in the alumni,” Knight said.
“We’ve always trained that suite just below the CEO and because that is now converting into more paths to CEO, it is drawing a lot of benefit,” Professor Knight said. Andrew Beer, executive dean of the UniSA Business School said: “Napoleon once observed that every soldier carries a Field Marshall’s baton in their knapsack. The same applies to all business students.”“Where you choose to study should be about what you want to do with your degree,” Mr Crisp said. “The higher ranked business schools bring the opportunity to build strong networks, those that might be key to building your career or business in the future, but there’s more to it than that.