Your undergraduate education may not be as large of a factor as you think in taking residence of the corner office. While educational pedigree can be very important in the career trajectories of law, politics, & business, many times the most beloved Fortune 500 CEOs have diplomas from accessible universities. According to research conducted by Kittleman & Associates, an executive recruitment firm headquartered in Chicago, only 9.2% of 2018 Fortune 500 CEOs earned undergraduate degrees from Ivy League institutions with half of executives attending public schools. The University of Wisconsin is the alma mater leader with 14 of 500 degrees. Trailing closely behind are Harvard, Cornell, and the University of Michigan with 12, 10, & 8 graduates, respectively.

While business administration and engineering are strongly represented among degrees awarded, there is a diverse range of disciplines represented including philosophy, accounting, and computer science.

Below is a list of better known companies and where their CEO’s attended undergrad.