How do I become CEO?

From what I've read you don't get to MD level unless you can bring in business on your own.

Lateral from a smaller firm or a different industry. Or do it the Dick Fuld way.

In my exp, to get BOD jobs, you gotta know someone or simply be the man in that industry. Of course an associate could do the 'work' necessary, but those cushy gigs where you get paid $250k a year to meet 8 times and sit in a room, those are really reserved as kudos/retirement padding to people who have managed to live such a great life where they get asked to do a job like this (or many times more than one).

How this benefits shareholders, i.e. having old/overpaid/nonenergetic people running the co, I am not quite so sure as of yet.

But I do someday want to be one of those people on 4-5 boards.

I think starting in I-banking is the most common route. Make MD first.

Best guess for after that - you maybe still have mentors more senior than you, and you have to play the politics and express interest in getting experience in management type jobs. I think David Viniar (CFO of Goldman) made MD in banking, and then switched into senior roles in the back office, and worked his way up/around over there

Being good is not enough to climb that high... Lots of wind up there...

You probably also need to be good at politics, with a couple of strong allies (eg: people that help you go up, and you help them back). And, IMO, don't even think of starting to climb without a mentor among the very high-ups. You might also need some extra-luck along the way

What is a good indicator of you being a leader? Look at your peers and more importantly, people older than you. Do you ever hear them say, I would follow you? More importantly, do they see you as a leader that would even be openly willing to lead them in various situations? I think this is a good proxy and early indicator. Remember most CEOs and leadership management positions are really peers of eachother. Its not necessarily the coolest kid on the block but that does play into this.

Obviously, you would need to have an amazing career, have a consistent track record of brining in business in all market conditions, strong client relationships that would vouche for you and senior level mentors that have identified you as leadership talent. If I look at the rockstars and subsequently, leaders of businesses, they either had one or all of these attributes. While there is no one way, you need a strong combination of these attributes and some luck that acts like a catalyst for BSD success. Its not easy and many quit along the way because the sacrifices can be so high.

JDimon - I don't think this is necessarily correct. Yes you definitely should have front-office experience but remember, senior leaders are not deal making specialists, they are operators. Deal making is one aspect of which you have an army to help with. Its selling a vision, leading execution and driving results that is the requirement in a leadership role. Quite frankly, most of us IB analysts will never make it to be a CEO at a Fortune 500 because the requirements are very different and the personality types don't match very well. Please dont take this offensively, but look at the Frotune 500 CEOs and each of their background. This does not mean you can't be the head of the business and make it rain on yourself and have more influence within a organization. Remember some product bankers make more the CEO of the bank.

Love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions. This is a fascinating topic that there is no clear answer to, from my perspective.

On Linkedin i see a lot of CEO's from marketing and not IBD. How does this work?