A 10-Year Study Reveals the Fastest Path to Becoming a CEO

For some, career progression moves at full speed, while for others, it takes longer or even stalls indefinitely.

A common belief is that those who rise quickly to the top have prestigious MBA degrees from elite universities, secured high-level jobs at major corporations immediately after graduation, and climbed the corporate ladder carefully, avoiding risky moves. However, our data tells a completely different story.

Over the past 10 years, we conducted a study called the CEO Genome Project, analyzing data from over 17,000 executives in senior leadership roles. We conducted 2,600 in-depth assessments to examine who reaches the top and how they get there. We paid special attention to "Jumpstart CEOs"—those who reached the CEO position in less than 24 years from their first job, compared to the average timeline for most employees.

A Surprising Finding

We discovered that Jumpstart CEOs do not reach the top by following a flawless career path. Instead, they get there by making bold career moves that propel them forward. Our study identified three key career accelerators that were most common among Jumpstart CEOs. 97% of them used at least one of these accelerators, and nearly 50% leveraged two or more. In contrast, only 24% of them held an MBA from a prestigious university.

Executives use these three career accelerators to develop leadership behaviors that distinguish successful CEOs, including decisiveness, reliability, adaptability, and the ability to drive results. These traits make them stand out and attract leadership opportunities. The impact of these accelerators is so powerful that even individuals who never aspired to become CEOs ended up in the role by following one or more of these strategies.

1. Starting Small to Achieve Big Success

The path to becoming a CEO is rarely a straight line. At times, moving backward or sideways may be necessary to advance forward. More than 60% of Jumpstart CEOs held smaller roles at some point in their careers, using these opportunities to build something from the ground up and create significant impact.

For instance, some started new initiatives within their companies (like launching a new product or department), moved to a smaller firm for a bigger leadership role, or even started their own businesses.

Take Jamal, who, in his late 20s, took a strategic planning and business development role at a multi-billion-dollar marketing and communications company. Early in his career, he was offered the chance to co-found a new company—an opportunity that seemed like a demotion or, at best, a lateral move. The company had zero revenue at the time, but he took the risk and helped build it into a $250 million business.

Through this experience, Jamal developed essential management skills, including profit & loss management, budgeting, and strategic vision—all crucial for becoming a CEO. By age 40, he became the CEO of a $1.5 billion education and training company.

2. Making a Bold Leap

More than one-third of Jumpstart CEOs made a "big leap" early in their careers—often within the first decade. They abandoned caution and eagerly embraced opportunities beyond their experience level, even when they felt unprepared for the challenge.

Take Akram, who joined a $200 million company as a senior accountant at just 24 years old. Within eight months, he was offered the CFO position, bypassing the financial controller who had hired him. Despite his young age and limited experience, he seized the challenge.

Akram recalls, "I was younger than most people at that level, and I was given responsibility before I felt fully ready." However, by stepping into the CFO role, he gained valuable insights across multiple business functions and proved his ability to succeed in a high-stakes environment.

Within nine years, after serving as CFO, Akram became CEO.

If you don’t expect opportunities like this to come your way, you’re not alone. However, Jumpstart CEOs believe in making their own luck. They actively seek cross-functional projects, post-merger integrations, and complex problem-solving challenges. Most importantly, they embrace bigger roles, even before they feel completely ready.

3. Taking Charge of a Crisis

While it may seem counterintuitive, one of the fastest ways to prove your leadership potential is to inherit a crisis. This could mean taking charge of a struggling business unit, a failing product, or a bankrupt division.

More than 30% of Jumpstart CEOs in our study led their teams through major crises, proving their ability to assess situations calmly, make tough decisions under pressure, take calculated risks, and rally others toward a shared goal.

Nidal, now a CEO in the transportation industry, actively sought out chaotic situations rather than waiting for crises to find her. She explains, "I wanted to work on something that was a mess and needed fixing—whether it was IT, cost issues, or tax problems, it didn’t matter. I was always assigned the toughest challenges. I cleaned them up and found solutions."

By stepping up and taking on high-risk, high-impact roles, Nidal demonstrated her ability to drive success. As a result, she became CEO just 20 years after starting her career.