Corporate Executive Career Progression: Shooting for the Top
(A2024-119772)

AUTHORS

Otto Afiuc, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; Mercedes Esteban-Bravo, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; Jose Vidal-Sanz, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; Donald Lehmann, Columbia Business School

ABSTRACT

This paper studies the career progression of marketing executives and compares it with the careers of executives from other functional areas, with special interest in their chances of ascending to the CEO role or the board of direction. The analysis is based on a large panel of U.S. corporate executives. We examine how previous experiences, such as cross-functional, multi-company, and cross-industry sector positions influence the career progression of corporate executives, and particularly focus on how marketing executives can plan to optimize their possibilities of promotion to the top positions.