"At McKinsey, recruits rotate across industries and geographies, dissecting sprawling problems and creating and defending solutions before skeptical executives. General Electric built its reputation on world-class management programs that groomed future chiefs through exacting operating roles. PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble are legendary for giving young managers full P&L responsibility early and demanding sharp marketing instincts. JPMorgan Chase exposes rising leaders to complex global markets, risk management, and high-stakes client relationships."
"Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future dominance. And with the advent of AI, the very factors that once made these companies reliable CEO factories are shifting. "The value of traditional backgrounds hasn't been discarded," says Christine Greybe, president of leadership consulting at DHR Global. "But it's being supplemented by more progressive, digital-first thinking." Boards now prize leaders who can operationalize AI, manage its risks, and weave data into core strategy."
Traditional corporate academies like McKinsey, General Electric, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and JPMorgan Chase historically produced CEO-ready leaders through rotations, rigorous operating roles, P&L responsibility, and exposure to complex markets. Those environments forced talent to build range, financial discipline, and judgment that boards valued when selecting top executives. The advent of AI is automating analytical tasks that once developed leadership muscles and changing the skills boards prioritize. Boards increasingly favor executives who can operationalize AI, manage its risks, and integrate data into strategy, boosting the prominence of chief product and data officers and digital-transformation leaders as CEO candidates.
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