Financially Minded CEOs in Demand Post-Recession

LONDON, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It appears that finance skills are key to becoming a leading CEO, findings from the annual Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker reveal. Nearly half (49 per cent) of serving Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the current FTSE 100 Index have financial backgrounds*, compared to only 31 per cent in 2008*.

Of the 10 FTSE 100 CEOs who have been appointed over the past year, seven leaders (70 per cent) have financial backgrounds, including Andrew Harrison of Whitbread and Nicandro Durant of British American Tobacco who have both held Finance Director roles in their career.

"As the economy continues to improve, we are seeing an increasing demand for leaders with a strong financial skill set to guide organisations through a challenging operating environment and drive competitiveness so they emerge a stronger, more capable business", said Phil Sheridan, Managing Director for Robert Half UK. "This renewed significance in fiscal expertise reflects the increasing regulatory environment and need for accountability for the numbers behind the business."

Diversity

Although diversity amongst the FTSE 100 has come a long way in recent years, looking back at last year's results, the 2011 research suggests there has not been an improvement at the C-level. This is especially prevalent when it comes to gender, nationality and age.

The number of women making the top position in 2011 has remained unchanged, with four at the top for both years. However, the number of CEOs under the age of 45 has increased from 4 per cent to 6 per cent over the last year, indicating that a higher number of younger professionals are making their way to the top.

    
    FTSE 100              2010          2011

    % Woman                 4             4
    % British Nationals    59            54
    % under age of 45       4             6

While the majority of CEOs are British nationals, the remaining leaders come from a wide range of countries, including the United States, Mexico, Syria, India and South Africa. The youngest FTSE 100 CEO is still Oleg Novachuk who, at only 39, runs the copper mining company Kazakhmys. Jaime Lomelin of Fresnillo, who has been at the helm for over 20 years, retains his title as being the oldest CEO in the FTSE 100 Index, aged 75.

Titles, tenure, and education

Seven of the FTSE 100 CEOs hold titles including Dame Marjorie Scardino of Pearson, the international media and publishing company, and Sir Martin Sorrell who also holds the accolade of longest serving FTSE 100 CEO. Sorrell, of advertising and communications giant WPP, has been at the top for nearly 25 years.

Sorrell is also one of a clutch of FTSE 100 CEOs who attended the elite halls of Oxbridge. With a 2 per cent increase on last year, 21 per cent of current CEOs attended either Oxford or Cambridge, with the vast majority of the remainder holding some form of higher education qualification.

About Robert Half

Robert Half pioneered specialised recruitment services and today is the world's leader in the field. Founded in 1948, the company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: RHI) and operates five separate divisions in the UK, each serving distinct markets. They include: Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources, for temporary, permanent and interim professionals, respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance; OfficeTeam, for highly skilled temporary administrative support, Robert Half Financial Services Group, for high-calibre banking and capital markets professionals and Robert Half Technology for highly skilled information technology professionals. Robert Half UK has been named to the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2011.

There are more than 350 Robert Half locations worldwide. For more information about Robert Half please visit http://www.roberthalf.co.uk or follow us at http://www.twitter.com/roberthalfuk.

About the Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker

The Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker is conducted each year in March. Research is conducted using company websites, annual reports and CEO appointment news coverage.

About FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 share index is a stock market index made up of the 100 largest UK registered companies in terms of their market capitalization. http://www.ftse.com

*Financial experience / background signifies those with a qualification in accountancy (for example a Chartered Accountant), those who have held a previous FD, CFO or similar financial role (for example financial controller) or those who have worked within the banking industry.

* During the recession the number of CEOs with a financial background rose by 64% and is now holding steady.

    
    Year           FTSE 100 CEOs with a Financial
                            Background (%)

    2008                        31
    2009                        51
    2010                        51
    2011                        49