When Laxman Narasimhan was hired to be the next Starbucks CEO in September, he joined a club that includes the chief executives of some of America’s biggest and best-known companies—Brian Cornell of Target, Chris Kempczinski of McDonald’s, Ed Bastian of Delta Air Lines, Al Kelly Jr. of Visa, Ron Coughlin of Petco, Lauren Hobart of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Vivek Sankaran of Albertsons, Dave Kimbell of Ulta Beauty, Mary Dillon of Foot Locker, and Ann Mukherjee of Pernod Ricard North America.
What do these leaders have in common? They all spent significant time rising through the ranks of the same company. But they aren’t alums of the expected “academy companies” known for turning out leadership talent, such as Procter & Gamble, nor a buzzy tech pioneer famous for its management culture.
