Founders Versus Non-Founders : an Empirical Analysis of CEO Educational Background

In this paper we compare CEOs that are firm founders to CEOs that are not firm founders. The focus ofthis paper is to examine how firm founders are different from other CEOs with regard to compensation,level of education attained, degrees earned, the age at which the individual earned his/her degree, and when they started working for their company relative to the time that they earned their degree(s). Significant differences between the total compensation received by founding and non-founding CEOs are identified. The compensation differentials vary based upon the undergraduate and graduate degrees held. When comparing founders to non-founders, significant differences in the age of the CEO, the age when the individual received his undergraduate and graduate degrees, the age they started working for the firm and the age at which they became the CEO are found. Many non-founding CEOs start working for the firm that they will ultimately manage in the year prior to earning their college degrees, however; founding CEOs are more likely to finish their degree before becoming the CEO of the firms they found. Few individuals, either founders or non-founders, earn either their undergraduate or graduate degrees after taking on the role of CEO