Rising from Within: The Power of Internal Leadership

The new CEO announcement at Nike last week created a lot of discussion on social media, mainly because his only work experience has been at Nike. It’s especially unusual – working more than 20 years at the same company – for newer generations.

Elliott Hill started in sales and worked his way up to the top. In contrast, John Donahoe, whom Hill is replacing, had a very different path. Donahoe spent 23 years at Bain & Company as a consultant. He later led companies like eBay and ServiceNow before becoming Nike’s CEO. But just before Donahoe, Mark Parker, who joined Nike in 1979 as a footwear designer, served as CEO from 2006 to 2020. So, is this a sign that Nike has returned to promoting from within?

Some companies prefer to bring in external CEOs, thinking it will bring fresh perspectives and a more analytical approach to their business. And for some, it looks cooler (tbh). But does being cool really create success? So, I looked at the top 50 most valuable brands in the world. It’s clear that the majority of their CEOs have worked at their companies for over 20 years. These leaders often rise through the ranks internally. Does that sound interesting?

Let’s start with a well-known example - Tim Cook joined Apple in 1998 as the Senior Vice President of Operations and became CEO in 2011. He managed to not only maintain Apple’s market value but also grow it significantly, showing how an insider can lead a company successfully. Similarly, Satya Nadella, who joined Microsoft in 1992, became CEO in 2014 and transformed Microsoft by leading its shift toward cloud technology and AI, resulting in a sharp rise in the company’s market value (you can find more examples at the end of the post).

Leading a company without deeply understanding its culture or the basic principles of how the work is done can be very challenging. And the examples from the top valuable brands highlight how critical it is for CEOs to truly grasp a company’s culture and use that knowledge to make strategic decisions.

I believe that leaders who rise through the ranks internally tend to bring continuity and a deep understanding of the company’s internal dynamics, making them more effective at ensuring long-term success (plus you’re also giving all your employees the dream of becoming a leader). This is why promoting from within remains a core reason behind the sustained success of many large brands today.

Of course, there are plenty of exceptions but it’s often forgotten that finding an outlier with a highly innovative leadership approach without any background in the industry is rare and quite difficult.? Being CEO shouldn’t be about making great presentations.

However, the effectiveness of this approach relies on companies having strong leadership development programs and the ability to identify and nurture future leaders within their ranks. So if you cannot find someone from within the company as a CEO candidate, maybe you’ve been doing things wrong from the beginning .

Other notable examples:

• Arvind Krishna: He has worked at IBM since 1990 and became CEO in 2020.
• Jon Moeller: Moeller started at P&G in 1988 and was appointed CEO in 2021.
• Koji Sato (Toyota) and Ola K?llenius (Mercedes-Benz) are also automotive industry leaders who worked their way up within their companies to eventually reach the CEO role.
• James Quincey (Coca-Cola): Quincey started at Coca-Cola in 1996 and became CEO in 2017.
• Doug McMillon (Walmart): McMillon joined Walmart in 1984 and was promoted to CEO in 2014.
• Mary Barra (General Motors): Barra began at GM in 1980 and became CEO in 2014.
• Brian Moynihan (Bank of America): Moynihan joined in 1993 and became CEO in 2010.
• Shantanu Narayen (Adobe): Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 and became CEO in 2007.
• Oliver Blume (Volkswagen): Blume joined Volkswagen in 1994 and became CEO in 2022.
• Amin Nasser (Aramco): Nasser joined Aramco as an engineer in 1982 and became CEO in 2015.
• Billy Gifford (Altria - Marlboro): Gifford joined Philip Morris in 1994 and became CEO in 2020.