The Career Path to Becoming a Retail Rock Star CEO

The Career Path to Becoming a Retail Rock Star CEOThe Career Path to Becoming a Retail Rock Star CEOIts hard to pinpoint when or why it began, but these days the CEOs of Americas best-known companies have attained a fame that rivals that of professional athletes and jupe stars. High profile corporate leaders are being idolized, scrutinized, and televised. With salaries, bonuses, and exit packages that rival those of Americas best-known celebrities, the position of corporate CEO has gained more than a little sex appeal. While many employees in the retail industry today have their eye on the seemingly glamorous chief executive job, the goal seems distant and somewhat unattainable. There are plenty of great musicians who never make a platinum record. There are also plenty of brilliant employees who will never attain rock star CEO status. As the lines between business and celebrity start to blur, retail employees are left wondering if progressive career paths still exist or if, like rock stars, theyre going to have to hope for a big break to make it to the top of the retail industry. Famous CEOs Leave Clues for Career Advancement Todays ascent up the retail corporate ladder is less like a singular climb up a sturdy structure and more like a blind and crowded crawl around an unmarked labyrinth with shifting walls. Well-established and fixed hierarchies have given way to constant shuffles of the org chart boxes. Just when you think you have your next move mapped out, some overpaid OD consultant swoops in and changes the topography. Its like a bad road trip in the family SUV. You can see where you want to go, but you cant find a way to get there from here. There are very few companies that will take employees by the hand and lead them through their career journey anymore. Employees today are left to use their own navigational skills to make their way to the penthouse office suite. It may be a mysterious journey, but its not an impossible one. By reconstructing the professional route that some well-known CEOs took to get to the top, certain similarities and patterns emerge. A single executives work history may not mapquest the most relevant career path for contemporary corporate America, but each path can provide clues to those retail employees who are looking for career advancement direction. There are 4 different career paths to look at Traditional rise through the ranksCompany and industry hoppingSpecialized focus and expertiseRetail Enterprenuerialship Traditional Rise Through the Retail Store Ranks Progressive promotion is the old school strategy for success in the retail field. Work hard, be loyal, and grow with the company. This career path is slow, its steady, and its definitely not glamorous, but it is a practical path to take. While rising through the ranks might have been considered the only way to advance for baby boomers, its a relatively uncommon phenomenon for todays retail chief executives. Nevertheless, the career paths o f Targets Robert Ulrich, Best Buys Brad Anderson, and Walgreens Jeffrey Rein stand out as classic examples of a good, old-fashioned ladder-climbing ascent. Robert Ulrich, CEO, Target Corporation, 1994-2008 Born in Minneapolis, MNSon of a 3M executiveB.A. degree, University of MinnesotaStanford Executive Program, Stanford University Graduate School of BusinessCart attendant, Dayton Hudson CorporationMerchandising trainee, Dayton CorporationSales manager, Dayton CorporationBuyer, Dayton CorporationGroup manager, Dayton CorporationDivisional merchandise manager, Dayton CorporationMerchandising, Dayton Department StoresVice president and general merchandise manager Daytons Department StoresSenior vice president of stores, Daytons Department Stores Executive vice president for merchandise, sales promotion, and presentation, Daytons Department StoresPresident and CEO, Diamonds Department StoresCo-president, responsible for merchandising, marketing, and distribution, Dayton Hudson Departme nt Store GroupPresident, Target StoresChairman and CEO, Target Stores Brad Anderson, CEO, Best Buy Born in Sheridan, WYSon of a Lutheran ministerBelow average high school studentA.A. degree, Waldorf CollegeB.A. degree in sociology, University of DenverAttended Northwestern Seminary, St. Paul, MinnesotaCommissioned salesman, Sound of Music stereoStore manager, Sound of MusicSales manager, Sound of MusicVice president, Best BuyExecutive vice president, Best BuyBoard of directors, Best BuyPresident and COO, Best BuyCEO, Best Buy Jeffrey Rein, CEO, Walgreens Born in New Orleans, LAGraduated from Sahuro High School in TusconBachelors degree in accounting, University of Arizona, TusconBachelors degree in pharmacy, University of Arizona, TusconEmployee, Defender DrugPharmacy intern for his future father-in-lawEmployee, Longs DrugsAssistant manager, WalgreensStore manager, WalgreensDistrict manager, WalgreensDivisional vice president, WalgreensVice president of marketing systems and service s, WalgreensTreasurer, WalgreensVice president of marketing systems and services, Walgreens Executive vice president of marketing, WalgreensPresident and COO, WalgreensCEO, WalgreensChairman, Walgreens Company-hopping, Industry-jumping Career Path In direct contrast to the traditional rise through the ranks is the career path in which the CEOs hopped, jumped and zig-zagged their way to the top of a retail organization. unterstellung leaders moved with ease between different companies and different industries, rising a little higher with each move until they leapfrogged to the top of a major retail operation. This is more common for contemporary CEOs, which gives the impression that todays retail organizations are less about grooming and more about snatching up the already groomed. Even though industry jumping is commonplace, retail leaders and analysts are still somewhat shocked when a retail organization appoints a CEO who has no prior retail experience. This welches the case w ith eBays Meg Whitman, and both of Home Depots last two CEOs, Robert Nardelli and Frank Blake. Whitman had neither technical nor retail experience when she was recruited to lead eBay out of relative obscurity. Nardelli had experience in manufacturing giant, General Electric, and Blake had mostly government experience before they each took over the helm of Home Depot. The zigzag career paths of these three chiefs illustrate how the company-hopping, industry-jumping career path can work. Margaret (Meg) Whitman, CEO, eBay, 1998-2008 Born in Long Island, NYGraduated from Cold Spring Harbor High School, Cold Spring Harbor, NYB.A. degree in Economics, Princeton UniversityAdvertising sales, Princeton undergraduate magazineM.B.A. degree, Harvard Business SchoolBrand management for Noxzema, Procter GambleConsultant, Bain CompanyVice president, Bain CompanySr. vice president for marketing, consumer products, The Walt Disney Co.President, Stride RitePresident and CEO, Florist Transworld Del iveryGlobal management and marketing, Hasbro CEO, eBay Robert Nardelli, CEO, Home Depot, 2000-2007 Born in Old Forge, PAFather was aGE plant manager, mother was a real estate agentGraduated from Rockford Auburn High School, Rockford, ILB.S. degree in business from Western Illinois University, Macomb, ILM.B.A. degree, University of LouisvilleEntry level manufacturing engineer, General ElectricManagement, GE AppliancesManagement, GE LightingManagement, GE Transportation SystemsExecutive vice president general manager, J.I.Case Company / TennecoExecutive vice president and CEO, CAMCOPresident and CEO GE Transportation Systems President and CEO, GE Power SystemsSenior vice president, General ElectricCEO Chairman, Home Depot Specialized Focus and Expertise Career Path Often retail organizations will choose chief executives who possess expertise in a specific area that is determined to be key to the companys future. This career path sometimes has an industry-hopping aspect to it, b ut the jump seems more logical and less shocking to outside observers. Jeff Bezoshad neither retail nor publishing-related experience before he started Amazon, but he had the essential technical expertise to create the amazon.com infrastructure. H. Lee Scott had a distinct transportation and logistics career path, which was an aspect of the business that Wal-Mart was interested in keeping strong. Restaurant experience is not what Darden wanted from Clarence Otis when they chose him to be CEO. Darden wanted his finance experience to keep that aspect of its restaurant chains strong. The career paths of these three retail CEOs illustrates that specialized focus and expertise in one aspect of a retail business can eventually lead to the CEO office as well. H. Lee Scott, CEO, Wal-mart Born in Joplin, MOSon of a gas station manager and an elementary school music teacherFathers helper, Phillips 66 gas stationGraduated from Baxter Springs High School, Baxter Springs, KSB.S. degree in Busine ss, Pittsburg State University in KansasExecutive Development Program, Penn State UniversityExecutive Development Program, Columbia UniversityLaborer, tire mold manufacturerManagement training program, Yellow FreightTerminal manager, Yellow Freight SystemsAssistant director of transportation, Wal-Mart Director of transportation, Wal-MartVice president of transportation, Wal-MartVice president of distribution, Wal-MartSenior vice president of logistics, Wal-MartExecutive vice president of logistics, Wal-MartExecutive vice president of merchandise, Wal-MartPresident and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores divisionVice chairman and COO, Wal-MartDirector of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.President and CEO, Wal-Mart Clarence Otis, Jr., CEO, Darden Restaurants Born in Vicksburg, MS, grew up in the notorious Watts ghetto in South Los AngelesSon of a janitorGraduated from Jordan High School, Los Angeles, CABachelors degree in both economics and political science fromWilliams College, Williamstown, MA (Magna Cum Laud e)Law degree, Stanford University Law SchoolCorporate law, specializing in securities law and mergers and acquisitions, Donovan Leisure Newton IrvineLawyer, Gordon, Hurwitz, Butowsky, Weitzen, Shalov WeinInvestment banking, Kidder, Peabody Co. Vice president, First Boston CorporationManaging director, Giebert Municipal CapitalManaging director and manager of public finance, Chemical Securities (JP Morgan Securities)Vice president and treasurer, Darden RestaurantsSenior vice president of investor relations, Darden RestaurantsSenior vice president of finance and treasurer, Darden RestaurantsCFO, Darden RestaurantsPresident of Smokey Bones Barbeque Grill, Darden RestaurantsExecutive vice president, Darden RestaurantsDirector, Darden Restaurants CEO, Darden Restaurants Retail Entrepreneurship Career Path The only surefire strategy for becoming a retail CEO is to start your own company and award yourself the title. The entrepreneurs are the true creators in the retail industry. T hey didnt follow much of a career path at all. Instead, they defined their own career, charted their own destination, and sketched out their own road map. Sam Waltonof Wal-Mart was an entrepreneur almost from the start. Others, like James Sinegal of Costco, started down a traditional career path and made the entrepreneurial leap in mid-career. The career paths of these two retail legends show that its never too early or too late to appoint yourself as your own CEO. Sam Walton, CEO, Wal-Mart Born in Kingfisher, OKSon of farmersMilked the family cow, bottled the milk and delivered it to customersNewspaper deliveryGraduated from Hickman High School in Columbia, MO, (voted most versatile boy)Bachelors degree in economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MOWaiterLifeguardROTC officerManagement trainee, J.C. PenneyDuPont munitions plant, Tulsa OKSecuritysupervisorat aircraft plants and POW camps, US Army IntelligencePurchased a Butler Brothers franchise retail store in Newport, AR Purch ased another Butler Brothers store in 1950 in Bentonville, AR and called it Waltons 510Sold the Newport Butler Brothers store ($50,000 profit)Purchased a non-franchised retail store in Fayetteville, ARPurchased larger stores and called them Waltons Family CenterOpened the first Wal-Mart in 1962Founder and CEO, Wal-Mart James Sinegal, CEO, Costco Born in Pittsburgh, PASon of a steelworkerGraduated from Helix High School, Pittsburgh, PAA.A. degree, San Diego City CollegeEnrolledinSan Diego State University, did not graduateMattress handler, Fed-Mart CorporationBagger, Fed-Mart CorporationStore manager, Fed-Mart CorporationVice president of merchandising andoperations,Fed-Mart CorporationExecutive Vice President, Fed-Mart CorporationVice President of Merchandising, Builders EmporiumPresident, Sinegal/Chamberlin AssociatesExecutive vice president, Price Company Co-founder, president, and CEO, Costco Wholesale Moving in the Right Direction in Your Retail Career When 19,000 college g raduates were asked by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) how they would choose a job, the class of 2008 respondents said their highest priority was finding a company that provides the opportunity for advancement. For those who want the highest possible advancement to the ultimate retail destination, the career paths of contemporary CEOs can serve as inspiration that many different routes are available. The journey will be easiest for those who are the most flexible, adaptable, and resourceful, especially when the next steps are not very clear. If youre not exactly sure how youll get there from here, take a step that provides some type of learning or expansion. Thats one step that all rock star CEOs found to be a step in the right direction.