|
Does a CEO need to be an MBA?
27 Nov, 2007, 2148 hrs
IST,Mansi Tiwari,
TNN
As technology changes like quicksilver
and globalisation issues come to a boil, the role of leadership in
firms have come under the scanner. Clearly, the notion of leadership
in an era of global connectivity means that the top job not only has
to ensure profits for all shareholders, it has to fix problems, tap
new markets, bring cutting edge ideas to the table, and lead
cross-cultural teams.
The person has to be passionate , empathetic, sharp and inspirational
at the same time.A couple of weeks ago, if you have been following our
page one ticker, you would know that in the Forbes’ 400, the first
MBA CEO was one whose company ranked 22 on the list. Which means that
21 of the world’s best companies don’t have CEOs who have MBAs on
their resume.
So what gives? According to Mickey Matthews, VP, North America,
Stanton Chase International, the global headhunter : “MBA’s are
losing some relevance as they become more and more ‘easy’ to
obtain. With the proliferation of opportunities to get this credential
we are seeing it as more of a nice to have but not a stand out
requirement.” Amplifying the argument, Avneesh Raghuvanshi, partner
, DKR Daulet-Singh , the CEO search firm: “An MBA degree is useful
but not necessarily a decisive factor, the most stressed upon areas
are prior experience and leadership abilities”.
As India Inc gets younger, however, things are changing. Says Omam
Consultants executive director Anil Koul:” In the current
scenario, MBA is almost an essential requirement, if not must. Only in
some core or manufacturing sectors where they are looking for CEO’s
with age profile 50 + years, this may not be a pre-requisite
factor.”.
Then there is the setting of a benchmark. Says Dhiren Shantilal,
senior VP and MD, Asia Pacific, Kelly Service says: “MBAs not only
offer more to a company but also they require less, in that their need
for basic.
Also, an MBA from a good institute means an established career path
and network to bank upon. More and more senior executives are opting
for executive MBAs from foreign universities these days says Shiv
Agrawal, CEO, ABC Consultants: “If you were to hire a CEO from
outside, for example, there is a lot of discontent amongst the team.
If the person has an MBA degree from a top-rung B-school means that
the person is competitive, has experience and hence a good
candidate.”
Currently, in the world of cross domain movement, one might think that
the task of nominating a CEO will be all the more difficult, however,
its not so. Experts hold different opinion about the importance of
sectoral knowledge. Some are of the view that domain knowledge at CEO
level is not as important as at operational level as there are certain
components in the agenda that remains the same across domains.
“Domain knowledge is a great advantage,” says Raghuvanshi , “but
given the reality of a marketplace when CEO talent is getting scarce,
other issues are given importance.” Adds Agrawal: “In fact
bringing talent from outside the industry has its added advantage as
the person comes in with fresh ideas, is not biases, open to ideas and
reenergises the whole system.”
|
