Whether you are just starting out in your career or a few steps away from the top job, you might have more in common than you think with FTSE 100 CEOs. Find out with Raconteur’s calculator
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*The calculator is just for fun. All data is discarded at the end
How do you compare to the average FTSE 100 CEO?
Question 1
What gender do you identify as?
Male
Female
Other
You’ll fit right in here. Of the 97* CEOs in the FTSE 100 88 are men.
Your chances of making the top job are looking slimmer. Of the 97* CEOs in the FTSE 100, only nine are women.
At the moment, it doesn’t appear that any CEOs belong to other gender groups. In fact, out of the 97* CEOs in the FTSE 100, 88 are men.
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
*Three of the firms in the FTSE 100 are investment funds and therefore do not have normal corporate structures
Question 2
How old are you?
You are 0 years younger than the average FTSE 100 CEO, who is 55 years old.
Male
Female
70
50
30
10
Male
Female
70
50
30
10
Male
Female
70
50
30
10
Male
Female
70
50
30
10
Question 3
What is your ethnicity?
White european
Other
The ethnicity gap is not much better than the gender gap. 87 FTSE 100 CEOs have a white European background.
The ethnicity gap is not much better than the gender gap. Only 10 FTSE 100 CEOs are from a non-white European background.
White
Other
White
Other
White
Other
White
Other
Question 4
What is the highest degree level you have been awarded?
None
Bachelor’s
Master’s
MBA
PHD
Only two FTSE 100 CEOs did not attend university: Simon Roberts at Sainsbury’s and Jonathon Akeroyd of Burberry.
You are as educated as around half of all FTSE 100 CEOs.One in five FTSE 100 CEOs holds a non-MBA masters’ degree. This makes you better-educated than around half of them.
A quarter of all FTSE 100 CEOs have been awarded an MBA. That’s in addition to the one in five with a master’s degree.
Five FTSE 100 CEOs hold a PhD, on topics from operations management (C S Venkatakrishnan of Barclays) to theoretical physics (Deepak Nath of Smith & Nephew).
*excludes two CEOs whose education level is not known
Question 5
Based on your career so far, what role is most likely to be your stepping stone to the top job?
CFO or finance director
COO
Run a division
Other corporate role
Entrepreneur
Board member
Not a bad choice: 18 were finance chiefs before taking on their first CEO job — and many are chartered accountants.
Not a bad choice: 14 were operations chiefs before taking on their first CEO job.
You’re on the right track. Half of all FTSE 100 CEOs ran a division or subsidiary of a corporation before being appointed.
Not bad, but your chances might be slimmer. Only eight FTSE 100 CEOs had a C‑suite role other than CFO or COO first.
An ambitious move! Only one FTSE 100 CEO, Tim Steiner of Ocado, co-founded the business they now lead.
Not bad, but your chances might be slimmer. Eight CEOs were non-executive directors before being appointed.
Question 6
At how many companies have you held full-time jobs during your career?
Ignore summer jobs, internships and non-executive director roles
Keep going.You’ve been busy!
On average, top CEOs have worked at just three companies before their current one. Eleven have never worked anywhere else.
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
*excludes three CEOs whose number of former companies is unknown
Question 7
How long have you worked for your current employer?
That’s 1 years and 1 month longer than the typical FTSE 100 CEO, who has spent 13 years and nine months at their current employer. It took them eight years and nine months on average to secure the top role.
30
20
10
0
30
20
10
0
1 year
1 year
2 — 5 years
6 — 10 years
11 — 20 years
21+ years
30
20
10
0
1 year
1 year
2 — 5 years
2 — 5 years
11 — 20 years
21+ years
30
20
10
0
1 year
1 year
2 — 5 years
6 — 10 years
11 — 20 years
21+ years
Question 8
How much did you earn before tax last year, in British pounds?
Include pensions, benefits, bonuses and long-term incentives, but leave out earnings from second jobs or other directorships
£
The average FTSE 100 CEO earned £4,304,979 last year.
That’s 2 timesas much as you.
£1.17m was made up of fixed pay such as salary, pensions and benefits. Bonuses and other incentives accounted for £3.11m on average.
