Report reveals UK businesses run by financiers

A recent report from top interim management company, Executive Online, suggests that too many companies in the UK are led by financiers, rather than by strongly marketing orientated chief executives.

According to Executives Online there are far fewer marketing chief executives than financial chief executives at the helm of top companies.

The survey revealed that of the FTSE Top 100 companies there were 27 chief executives with financial backgrounds, only 11 were from marketing backgrounds and the remainder were drawn from law, banking, engineering and IT sectors.

Of the 117 company directors questioned about their views on the role of finance as opposed to market-oriented chief executives who were effective, almost four out of five considered that too many companies were headed by financiers rather than marketers.

Executives Online Managing Director Norrie Johnston said: "Chief Executives need a number of things: vision, clear direction, the ability to simplify complexity, to inspire and to motivate, to be commercial, numerate, strategic and market orientated.

"They need to be able to spot good ideas, and recognise and compensate for their own limitations without feeling threatened. But whether marketers or accountants have more of these skills is open to question.

"It is perhaps a reflection of the cautious times that we live in that finance people appear to have the strong upper hand."

Acknowledging that in modern companies strong marketing skills were at a premium, Johnston said that he would like to see the balance altered. He added: "Marketing chief executives who see marketing in its broad business sense, can create more successful long-term brands than financial people, whose guarded approach may ultimately be stifling.

Executives Online provide senior and boardroom level interim management and project management for companies and organisations.

(SP)