While there are some people who are fortunate enough to be handed golden opportunities, for most of us getting to the top means a lot of hard work and determination. These bosses started on the bottom run of the corporate ladder but worked their way up to lead some of the biggest businesses on the planet. Click or scroll through to find out who they are, and how they got there.
In 1907 Sidney Weinberg dropped out of high school and was desperately seeking a job to help support his family. He went into the 43 Exchange Place building in New York and asked every office: "Want a boy?" He managed to talk his way into a janitor job at Goldman Sachs. Paul Sachs took a shine to Weinberg and sent him to Browne’s Business College. By 1925 he was given a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and just five years later he became CEO. He remained in the role until his death in 1969.
Mary T Barra began her career at General Motors in 1980 as a student aged 18. She worked her way through the ranks, progressing through senior roles in human resources and product development. Barra was named CEO of GM in 2014, making her the first woman to head up a large automaker, and Chairman in 2016. With a salary package of $21.6 million (£16.9m) in 2019, she has the highest earnings of any executive at a Detroit Big Three automaker. Barra was fifth on Forbes' 2019 Most Powerful Women list.
After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, Hugh Grant (not to be confused with the British actor) was hired by Monsanto aged 23 to guide Scottish farmers through the use of weedkiller Roundup. He went on to work in various sales and marketing functions across four continents, before rising to CEO in 2003. After 35 years at the company Grant announced he was leaving in 2018 after Monsanto's acquisition by Bayer. He received a pay-off of $32 million (£26m), but his legacy is under scrutiny following a string of court cases alleging Monsanto covered up cancer risks in its herbicides, for which the company has already paid out hundreds of millions of dollars.
In 1988 Alex Gorsky started working as a salesman at Janssen Pharmaceutica, owned by the Johnson & Johnson company. After working his way up through various positions in sales, marketing and management, he was awarded the roles of CEO and chairman of Johnson & Johnson in 2012. His pay packet in 2020 reached $25.3 million (£18.6m) – not bad for someone who started out as a sales rep.
CEO of one of professional services’ “Big Four”, Lynne Doughtie wasn’t handed success on a plate. KPMG’s chairman got a degree in accounting from Virginia Tech before landing her first role as an auditor at the company – and she never left. Doughtie has cited “taking risks” as a large part of her success as she ascended up the ranks to become CEO in 2015. She was the first female to hold the position and hoped to be a role model to women across the business sector. Doughtie left the role at the end of 2019 after a five-year term.
Doug McMillon took a summer job loading deliveries at Walmart as a teenager in 1984. Over the following decades he worked his way up the company's career ladder, becoming a buyer before moving into management roles. He was appointed to the company's board in 2013, and became CEO a year later. In 2019 McMillon took home total compensation of $22.1 million (£17.4m).
Krzanich joined Intel as a process engineer in 1982. He made a mistake early in his career that led to all output in his factory being wiped out for a week. But his handling of the situation meant he kept his job, and he was promoted to factory manager in 1996. After securing various other senior management roles, he was appointed CEO in 2013. However, after five years heading up Intel he resigned in the aftermath of an internal probe that revealed he'd had a relationship with a colleague, violating company policy.
Michael Corbat started his banking career in 1983 in the sales department at Salomon Brothers, which became part of Citigroup a few years later. He then worked his way up, becoming CEO of Citibank in 2012. Following criticism of his $24.2 million (£19.7m) salary in 2018, Corbat said it helps motivate low-level staff to work hard. He told CNBC: "I started at our firm in 1983 at $17,000 a year. So I am that person that looked up and said maybe if I work hard enough I can get there." His salary for 2019 was unchanged.
Greg Wasson started as a pharmacy intern at Walgreens in 1980. After graduating he worked as a management trainee, eventually managing stores in Houston and then working as district manager. In 2001 he was promoted to vice president, then COO in 2007 before landing the CEO position in 2009. He stepped down five years later following the company's merger with Alliance Boots. In 2016 he was ordered to pay a $160,000 (£128k) fine by the US SEC for acting "negligently" when providing sales forecasts prior to the merger.
Despite enjoying success as a songwriter in the 1980s, Liles was so desperate to work for Def Jam that he took an unpaid internship with the record label in 1991. After making a good impression he landed a full-time job at the company, and just seven years later he had risen up the ranks to become president of Def Jam Recordings. After helping artists like Kanye West and Jay-Z hit the big time, Liles left Def Jam in 2004. He was then appointed executive vice president of Warner Music Group until 2009, before co-founding record label 300 Entertainment in 2012, of which he is currently the CEO.
From a young age, Lynn Good’s parents, both teachers, encouraged her to pursue whatever career she wanted, regardless of gender-based stereotypes. Good studied accounting at university and went on to work her way up through Arthur Anderson & Co., which was one of the biggest professional services providers prior to the Enron scandal in 2001. The now-CEO deftly dodged the company’s demise and moved over to Cinergy Energy, where a merger allowed her to climb the ladder at Duke Energy to take on the top job.
Dennis Muilenburg grew up on a farm in Iowa. After receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering he took an intern position at Boeing in 1985. He held multiple engineering and managerial positions before being promoted to vice president of Boeing Combat Systems and then President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. In 2015 he was named as Boeing's new CEO, and was given the position of company chairman a year later. In 2019 his salary package plus perks and awards came to $43 million (£34m), according to The Seattle Times. Muilenburg was ousted from the top job in October 2019 after two 737 aircraft crashed, killing 346 people. He left the role with $60 million (£44m) in stock and pension awards.
Rex Tillerson joined Exxon as an engineer after graduating from the University of Texas in 1975. He worked his way up through numerous managerial roles, leading projects all over the world. He was appointed CEO and chairman of Exxon Mobil in 2006, and held the position until January 2017. A month later he joined the Trump administration as Secretary of State, but proved an unpopular choice. He was dismissed in March 2018 and replaced by CIA director Mike Pompeo.
After working at a grocery store as a teenager, Brian Dunn joined Best Buy as a sales assistant in 1984 when he was 24 years old. He became a store manager four years later. After serving as district manager and then COO, he was eventually named CEO in 2009. However, Dunn resigned just three years later following an internal investigation that found he had violated company policy by becoming too close to a junior employee. He received a severance package of $6.6 million (£5.2m).
Best Buy’s current CEO Corie Barry joined the organisation in 1999 and has covered around 15 different financial and operational positions over the last two decades, including chief strategic growth officer, CFO, and eventually CEO in 2019. Barry is continuing to grow the company, with the target of making Best Buy one of America’s top workplaces with an annual revenue of $50 billion (£40bn) by 2025. The CEO is also a trustee at the College of St. Benedict, where she first got her bachelor's degrees in accounting and management, and she also sits on the board of directors for Domino's Pizza. It has been estimated by Wallmine that Barry's total compensation was $5.9 million (£4.3m) in 2020.
Chris Rondeau got his first job at Planet Fitness in 1993. Starting as a receptionist aged 19, Rondeau went on to have numerous management roles at the fitness company before being named COO, and then CEO in 2013. Speaking to Entrepreneur about his rise to the top, he said: "It was kind of like different levels of schooling. You couldn't go from one to the other without having all these different roles in the meantime to learn from." Planet Fitness was in sixth place on Forbes' 2019 Best Franchises list.
YouTube has allowed plenty of people to rake in millions of dollars – not least its current CEO, Susan Wojcicki. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin actually set up shop in Wojcicki’s garage, and once she’d helped the search engine to become a roaring success, she was responsible for two of its biggest acquisitions – YouTube in 2006 and DoubleClick in 2007. Eight years later Wojcicki took over YouTube as its CEO.
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George Bodenheimer started on the very bottom of the ladder at ESPN, working in the mailroom in 1981. He stayed at the company, receiving multiple promotions, and eventually his hard work paid off when he was named President in 1998. Bodenheimer remained at the helm for 13 years, making him the company's longest-serving President. He left in 2014 following a tenure as Executive Chairman, but returned briefly in 2017 as Acting Chair when John Skipper resigned due to substance abuse issues.
Roger Goodell secured his first role at the National Football League in 1982 through sheer determination. After writing multiple letters to the league office and even driving overnight to visit in person, he was finally granted an internship. He was offered a full-time job in the PR department two years later, and then worked his way up before landing the Commissioner position in 2006, a title he still holds today. In June 2020 Goodell was criticised by Donald Trump after his NFL Black Lives Matter statement suggested that players should be allowed to kneel during the national anthem in protest. This prompted Trump to question in a Tweet whether the Commissioner was allowing acts that were "disrespecting" the United States and its flag.
After completing a history degree Samuel Palmisano joined IBM as a salesman in 1973. He worked his way up to executive assistant to the then-CEO in 1989, and proved himself to be a valuable asset. As a result, he continued to rise up the ranks, being appointed COO in 2000, then CEO in 2002 and chairman in 2003. He remained in leadership positions until he retired in 2012, and is now chairman of research nonprofit The Center for Global Enterprise.
Another former IBM CEO is Virginia “Ginni” Rometty, who spent years carving her path to the top. Rometty got into Northwestern University, Illinois on a scholarship from General Motors after interning with the company during her high school years. She went on to work for GM after graduating, before joining IBM in 1981 as a systems analyst, which was followed by various managerial roles at the company. In 2011 it was announced that Rometty would be taking the reins as CEO and president of IBM, and the tech icon was in Forbes’ top 10 "Power Women" ranking in 2019. Rometty stepped down from the role of CEO in early 2020.
Li Mingyuan started his career at Baidu, China's largest search engine with over a billion mobile active users, as an intern in 2004. He quickly impressed his superiors and worked his way through various management roles. In 2013 Li was appointed vice president, aged just 29. He became known as the 'Prince' of Baidu, and was tipped for the top role. However, he resigned in 2016 amid claims he had made large financial deals with companies that were in conflict with the company's interests.
Alan Lafley started working at Procter & Gamble as a Harvard graduate in 1977. His rise to the top involved several positions, including head of operations in Asia in 1994. In this role he was credited with boosting sales in China from $90 million (£60m) to almost $1 billion (£670m). He served as company CEO from 2000 to 2009, and again from 2013 to 2015, coming out of retirement to replace former CEO Bob McDonald, who stepped down following criticism of his comparatively disappointing results.
Like many young people, James Alan Skinner began his working life as a crew member at McDonald's. After dropping out of college, he took a role as a trainee manager with the company in 1971. He went through various management positions, including Director of Field Operations and Regional Vice President, before landing the CEO gig in 2004. The company's sales increased from $50 billion (£26.7bn) to $70 billion (£35bn) during his first four years in post. He retired from the company in 2012.
Ursula Burns joined Xerox as an intern in 1980. After completing her master's degree she took a permanent job with the company, and worked in various engineering positions over the next decade. In 1990 her career path changed when she was offered the role of executive assistant to a senior executive. She then rose through the ranks of various leadership roles before becoming CEO in 2009. The position made her the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. She stepped down in 2016. After two years as the CEO of telecommunications company VEON, Burns stepped down in early 2020.
After completing his PhD in chemical engineering in 1960, Jack Welch took a role working as a plastics engineer at General Electric. He later worked in management, although his career with the company nearly ended following a chemical explosion at the factory he managed. In 1972 he became GE's youngest ever vice-president, and was then appointed CEO in 1981; a position he held for 20 years. Upon his retirement in 2001, he received a record-breaking severance package of $417 million (£287m).
George Hu joined Salesforce as an intern in 2001. He impressed company bosses when his research on new markets revealed that they were wasting millions on ineffective direct mail campaigns. After being kept on at the company, he worked his way up the career ladder to become Chief Operating Officer in 2011. A month before his promotion he had already been named one of the "20 highest paid under 40" by CNN. Hu left Salesforce in 2014 and is now COO of Twilio.
Despite her father being the CEO of financial services firm Fidelity, Abby Johnson had to work her way up like anyone else. She worked as a customer service rep after high school, and then returned as an analyst after graduating college in 1988. She then transitioned into portfolio management, before taking on roles such as Head of Retail and President of Fidelity Asset Management. She replaced her father as CEO in 2014, and became chairman in 2016. She currently has a net worth of $15 billion (£11bn).
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After graduating with a science degree in 1975, Samuel Allen joined John Deere as an industrial engineer. He had worked across multiple departments in the company, including construction, sales, engineering and agriculture, before being promoted to chairman and CEO in 2010. Allen stepped down from his CEO position in 2019 following a period of disappointing overseas sales figures, and has since left his position as Chairman of the board too.
John Strangfeld (pictured centre) got his start at financial company Prudential in 1977, when he won a role as an investment analyst. Despite a fear of public speaking, Strangfeld went on to hold numerous senior management titles at the financial firm, both in the US and the UK. He was appointed Chairman CEO of Prudential Financial in 2007. He held the position for over a decade before retiring at the end of 2018.
Philip Clarke started his career at UK supermarket giant Tesco stacking shelves as a teenager in the store that his father managed in Liverpool. He continued to work for the company while studying at university, and then entered the management trainee scheme after graduating. Following stints as a stores director, regional director, and head of international, he became CEO in 2011. However, his reign included falling sales, profit warnings, horsemeat being sold in stores labelled as other meat and an accounting scandal. He was ousted in 2014.
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James Ziemer (pictured right) began his career at Harley-Davidson in 1969 with a position as a freight elevator operator while attending university. On graduating he moved into accounting and gradually rose up to COO in 1990 and then President and CEO in 2005. He retired four years later, having worked for Harley-Davidson for four decades.
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After earning a bachelor’s degree in finance from Guangzhou University in 1980, Pang Kang took on a role at Foshan Sauce Shop, a group of sauce factories established way back during the Qing Dynasty in the city of Foshan in China. Pang quickly ascended through the company and by 1982 he had moved from the sauce department to become vice chairman. Fast-forward almost 40 years and Pang is now chairman of the since renamed Foshan Haitian Flavoring & Food Co, which is valued at 659.2 billion Chinese yuan ($101.7bn/£74.7bn) and is the country’s biggest soy sauce producer. Foshan Haitian’s success has also inflated Pang’s personal fortune, which increased by an incredible $19 billion (£14bn) over the course of 2020. As of 19 January 2021 his net worth is now $32.8 billion (£24bn), according to Bloomberg.
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Robert "Bob" Iger began his career as a weatherman in 1973, before taking a job as studio facility supervisor at TV station ABC, now owned by the Walt Disney Company. After working his way up through positions including head of programming and COO, he eventually became CEO of Disney in 2005. The company's revenue has increased from $48.4 billion (£38bn) to $257 billion (£203bn) under Iger's leadership. In 2018 he was paid a salary of $65.6 million (£53.4m), which Disney heiress Abigail Disney branded "insane". This dropped to $48 million (£37.8m) in 2019. Iger was meant to step down from the CEO position in early 2020, but stayed on when the coronavirus pandemic hit to steer Disney through the period of uncertainty which at one point saw the company reportedly losing $30 million (£23.6m) a day. Iger stated he would not take his salary during this time.
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