What really drives a professional to be an executive in the biggest companies

Every year, we map the profiles, tenure, and career histories of leaders in the nine most common executive roles at the top of S&P 500 companies and track how they are changing.

The roles are chief executive officer, director of operations, chief financial officer, director of marketing, director of human resources, director of legal, director of supply chain, director of information technology and director of communications.

Also read: CEO of Goldman Sachs has a message for those who want success: stop wasting time

Here are five observations from our analysis that might be especially helpful for those aspiring to the C-suite:

1.The path to the C-level tends to be internal

Almost 60% of C-level area leaders at S&P 500 companies — and up to 80%, depending on the role — are promoted within the company itself. Internal appointments have been growing since 2020, when 55% of the C-level leaders we tracked were chosen internally.

2.Being hired from outside for a C-level position is more likely if you already hold (or have held) the same role at another company

When companies look for C-level leaders outside the organization, they tend to prioritize experience. The majority of C-level executives hired externally (57%) had already held the same position in another public or private company.

3.Changes in the leadership of the presidency create opportunities in the C-level

The current CEOs analyzed in our study have the longest average tenure: 7.8 years — versus an average of four or five years for most other roles. This means that CEOs are likely to replace leaders in key areas at some point during their tenure.

4.Some roles offer more opportunities to reach the C-level than others

The composition of senior leadership teams varies greatly, and not all companies have professionals in each of the nine functions we studied. In recent years, we have seen a drop in the proportion of chief marketing officers (CMOs) — currently around 70% — as companies move from centralized marketing leadership to regional or business unit models, or combine responsibilities such as sales and marketing, brand or customer experience into broader commercial or revenue roles.

5.Women and people from historically underrepresented groups occupy more than 40% of C-level positions, but representation varies greatly between roles

In total, 43% of C-level positions at S&P 500 companies are held by women and people from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Corporate seniors are generally a little more diverse than they were five years ago, but representation continues to vary widely depending on the role.

Charting a path to the C-level

Being successful requires more than in-depth knowledge of the company and great expertise in your area. Based on our research and extensive work over many years with C-suite leaders around the world, those who thrive tend to excel in a few key areas:

— Collaboration and influence

— People leadership

— Self-assessment and ability to adapt

Job rotation, P&L (profit and loss) experience, and exposure to different business units and functional areas prepare leaders for larger, more complex roles.

Even without formal job development and rotation programs, professionals aspiring to the C-suite can develop skills and gain experience in other ways, including:

— Work from today to become the leader you want to be when you get there.

— Help people around you succeed and win.

— Do an annual self-assessment with complete honesty.

— Maintain an outsider’s perspective.

— Understand that when you reach the C-suite (if you do), the work will likely be very different and perhaps more difficult than it is today.

— Maintain curiosity and humility.