THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Engineering-MBA still ticket to success at India Inc To understand how best to navigate your way into the corner office, TOI commissioned global recruitment firm Randstad to go deep into CEOs' CVs. They found that 45% of them were equipped with engineering degrees at the undergraduate level, out of which 78% had gone on and completed postgraduation as well. What is significant, though, is that 64% of those who pursued a postgraduate degree went for an MBA, according to the study which was conducted among the BSE 100 firms. Additionally, 42% of the CEOs finished their MBA degrees from top management schools such as the IIMs, XLRI, Harvard, Stanford and Wharton.  Within this universe, 70% of CEOs had postgraduation degrees while only 30% were undergraduates. An analysis of the undergraduate degrees of all the CEOs showed that 45% of CEOs had pursued engineering while 20% had opted for the commerce stream. "The trend of a higher percentage of CEOs having studied engineering and commerce along with an MBA seems to be in line with the traditional educational belief system in India. Most people perceive that this path provides valuable skills for going up the corporate ladder along with helping sustain the competitive advantage to become the CEO," says E Balaji, MD & CEO, Randstad India.  The study found 69% CEOs from family-run companies had done their postgraduation and 83% of those postgraduates had pursued an MBA afterwards. Further, out of all the CEOs who completed an MBA degree, 45% had done so from India while 55% from foreign universities . At professionally managed companies, as many as 54% of CEOs had an MBA and a majority of them were from an engineering background.  Vijay Govindrajan, professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, says even in the US a majority of CEOs have MBA degrees. "There are three main rationales for getting an MBA: intellectual capital (knowledge ), social capital (network), and legitimacy (brand name). All the three propel the best of the MBAs to reach the top," he says.  Another educationist Deepak Chandra, deputy dean at The Indian School of Business, feels that the skew towards engineering is a by-product of the country's education system. "As the role of the private sector rose over the years, the demand for top notch engineers across streams also grew. In post-liberalization India, when the effects of globalization were being felt, there was a spurt in the demand for MBA education as it provided not just the multi-functional learning necessary for running a business, but also an exposure to managing business in an integrated and increasingly complex world. Over time, the engineer-MBA qualification was seen as a passport to a good life, making it a lot more aspirational ," Chandra says.  Today, organizations are increasingly adopting employee-friendly policies to enable them to do an MBA through a sabbatical or corporate sponsorship aimed at equipping them with better skills. Atul Singh, president & CEO, Coca-Cola India, says an MBA provides a good base and an orientation to future leaders. "It is therefore no surprise that a majority of business leaders have a management degree. That said, a management degree neither assures leadership position for an individual nor is a prerequisite to be successful. We know of several examples of top CEOs who did not undergo postgraduate programmes , yet redefined the business landscape in their respective areas of operation ," Singh says.  Amit Jain, CEO at Dutch paints and coatings firm Akzonobel India, maker of the Dulux brand, himself an MBA from FMS, Delhi, however, swears by the training an MBA degree offers. "Professional education such as an MBA helps build conceptual constructs which enable managers to think through complex business situations. An MBA's understanding of various business functions hones his ability to make balanced professional decisions."  However, mindsets are changing across companies. Rajeev Dubey, president, HR, at Mahindra & Mahindra, says the tried and tested way up the corporate ladder is not the norm internationally anymore with many CEOs having pursued the liberal arts stream. "With more businesses wanting a diverse group of leadership it becomes important to get the richness and depth among its top tier. This is possible if we have leaders from different educational backgrounds who can bring forth varied ideas."  For now, though, the tag of an engineer-MBA is still your best bet for corporate success in India Inc.