For aspiring business leaders, hard work pays off—sometimes even in the form of a fast-track to the c-suite.
The leaders likely to make it there are on Fortune’s Most Powerful Rising Executives list, a collection of 25 up-and-coming stars at Fortune 500 companies. But how they made it to senior roles at companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Apple is no easy story to tell, especially from an educational perspective.
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While some took more traditional routes, studying business and economics in school and later obtaining an MBA, others carved less popular routes, such as studying subjects like physics, political science, or pharmacology.
They do, however, have at least one thing in common: they all value education enough to get a bachelor’s degree from universities of all sizes around the globe. With the exception of the University of Michigan—where Ram Krishnan of PepsiCo and Frank Bracken of Foot Locker studied, all the Most Powerful Rising Executives attended unique schools as undergraduates.
Fortune Most Powerful Rising Executives’ education by the numbers:
- 100% have a bachelor’s degree
- 60% attended graduate school
- 40% have an MBA
- 16% attended an Ivy League
- 40% studied engineering or computer science
The leaders also largely didn’t attend schools that are generally considered the best of the best; only four of the leaders received a degree from an Ivy League school.
Being curious is one of the ultimate secrets to success, says Megan Crozier, executive vice president and chief merchant of Sam’s Club. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Oklahoma State University.
“Degrees can be signals that you’re willing to put in the work (and) willing to learn,” Crozier adds. “But willingness—even eagerness—to learn is a long-term key to success, degree or not. No matter what university you attend or what job you’re in, there’s always something to learn or someone to learn from.”
Collaboration, empathy, and the ability to persuade are also key skills—alongside asking constructive questions, Crozier says.
The Most Powerful Rising Executives are distinct from the leaders on Fortune's Future 50 list, a collection of companies that are best suited for long-term growth. Some CEOs of these companies did not obtain a degree at all, saying it was a waste of time. On the flip side, others sought out PhDs to be leaders in their fields.
On both lists, one thing that was in common was the number of business leaders with degrees in subjects like computer science and engineering. Both also have a significant amount of individuals who received a degree outside of the U.S.
However, the education of the Most Powerful Rising Executives is largely similar to Fortune 1000 CEOs, at least in terms of MBAs. About 40% of Fortune 1000 CEOs have a graduate business degree.
Jamil Ghani, vice president at Amazon Prime, studied computer science, economics, and history of science as a Harvard undergraduate, then returned later to obtain his MBA. He credits his mother and father, who immigrated from Cuba and Pakistan, respectively, and impressed on him that “education is the ultimate life game changer.” In his case, education was not only transformative professionally but also personally, in the sense that it helped him dream bigger.
He adds that he initially thought he had to get everything right to be successful, but he later realized that everyone has their own path, especially when it comes to education.
“The most important thing to putting yourself on the path to success is knowing which path should be your path,” Ghani tells Fortune. “Though my undergrad and business school degrees were the right investment at the right time for my journey, a specific degree from a specific school only matters if that’s what will help you become the best version of yourself.”
Ghani agrees with Crozier and emphasizes the need for curiosity. He adds that empathy, too, is in part needed to understand and serve customers to the fullest extent.
“Many other business skills rise and fall in importance as the world changes (faster and faster) or your responsibilities change; but empathy and curiosity will always help you find a way forward to making big things happen,” he says.
Update: Additional quotes have been added from leaders featured on the Most Powerful Rising Executives list.
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