Unexpected Companies Produce Some of the Best CEOs

It is tempting to assume that the largest academy companies like GE and McKinsey have an edge when it comes to developing talent. As part of ghSMART’s CEO Genome research, we discovered that some surprising companies produce remarkable numbers of CEOs. Moreover, the CEOs these companies produce tend to perform well, thanks in part to the leadership development practices the companies embrace. We estimate there are over a dozen “stealth CEO factories” across a range of industries and geographies; these include Medtronic, Rohm and Haas, and Danaher. This study shows they do this by giving leaders broad authority; encouraging them to think like CEOs; and challenging strong performers early with big opportunities.

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