An analysis of the university degrees studied by the leaders of Britain's biggest companies shows that a large number opted for a broad “facilitating” subject not linked directly to the sector in which they built their career.Economics was the most popular undergraduate degree, which was taken by 28 chief executives and chairmen of companies in the FTSE100 index.Close behind came engineering, studied by 26 company chiefs, followed by more vocationally focused degrees: 21 studied business, 18 took a degree in accountancy or finance while 13 studied law.However, broader “facilitating” degree subjects were well represented too: 11 took degrees in maths, seven in physics, and seven in politics, philosophy and economics, all of them at Oxford. Several, however, took less conventional routes. Paul Pindar, chief executive of Capita, studied psychology at Swansea University, while Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, the pharmaceuticals group, studied veterinary medicine in Paris.The analysis was conducted by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to demonstrate the diversity of routes through higher education taken by business leaders.It found that 73 chairmen and chief executives of big British companies chose a degree linked closely to their business career, which exactly matched the number who opted for broader subject choices.For example Angela Arhendts, chief executive of Burberry, took a tightly focused degree in merchandising and marketing at Ball State University in her native Indiana, while five leaders of mining, oil and gas or utility companies studied degrees in geology.However, 25 business leaders took degrees with no link to their sector, including four who studied languages, two who opted for architecture, two who took history, and two who studied English or Classics.Only four did not go to university, including Sir Roy Gardner, chairman of Compass Group, who began as an apprentice at British Aircraft Corporation, and Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, who started as a cadet pilot with Aer Lingus.Cambridge was the best represented university, with 20 graduates among the heads of FTSE 100 companies, followed by Oxford with 16, Manchester with five and Edinburgh with four.Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS chief executive, who has urged pupils to follow their hearts when choosing a degree, said: “This study shows that a number of our business leaders chose degrees that did not link to a specific career.“Students should be encouraged that opting for a subject they really care about is no barrier to success.”
