Earning an MBA is of a Fortune 500 company — but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Nearly 40 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs have an MBA on their resume, and graduates from the earn starting salaries well over six figures.
Every year, U.S. News & World Report analyzes thousands of schools to determine the best business schools in the country, and they also keep an eye on which schools produce the most powerful industry leaders. Recently, U.S. News looked at where 10 of the most powerful Fortune 500 CEOs went to business school.
Here’s where some of the most powerful business leaders on earth earned their MBAs:
Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors
School: Stanford Graduate School of Business
U.S. News business school rank: 4
Gail Boudreaux, CEO, Anthem
School: Columbia Business School
U.S. News business school rank: 9
Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
School: Fuqua School of Business at Duke University
U.S. News business school rank: 11
Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan Chase
School: Harvard Business School
U.S. News business school rank: 1
Marvin Ellison, CEO, Lowe’s
School: Goizueta Business School at Emory University
U.S. News business school rank: 20
Alex Gorsky, CEO, Johnson & Johnson
School: The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania
U.S. News business school rank: 3
Doug McMillon, CEO, Walmart
School: Collins College of Business at the University of Tulsa
U.S. News business school rank: not ranked
Indra Nooyi, CEO, PepsiCo
School: Yale School of Management
U.S. News business school rank: 11
Doug Parker, CEO, American Airlines
School: Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University
U.S. News business school rank: 26
Darren Woods, CEO, ExxonMobil
School: Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
U.S. News business school rank: 6
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon attended Harvard Business School, which tied with the University of Chicago for the title of best business school in 2018. With an acceptance rate of just 9.9 percent, getting in to a program like this one isn't easy. The average undergraduate GPA of a student accepted by Harvard Business school is 3.71 on a 4.0 scale, and the average GMAT score is 731 (out of 800.)
For many top-tier programs, applicants must also complete an interview. In order to prepare yourself for business school interviews, be sure to practice your answers to the and prepare several thoughtful questions.
Above all else, learn how to clearly communicate the skills and experiences you will bring to the program and what you hope to take away.
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