Australian CEOs have greater international experience

Australians chief executives officers (CEOs) have more international experience that their Canadian counterparts, according to a survey conducted by Russell Reynolds Associates.

Having international experience and gaining management and specialist skills in large offshore markets has become a ‘must have’ for aspiring CEOs, said Russell Reynolds Associates country manager Anthony Armstrong.

The survey of 118 board members of the largest publicly traded companies in Canada and Australia revealed that 67 per cent of Australian CEOs had international work experience, compared to 37 per cent of Canadian CEOs.

Managing director of Russell Reynolds Associates Toronto, Shawn Cooper, stated that international work experience was increasingly important for CEOs as the economy became more globalised.

Key findings of the survey included more than three quarters of the board directors of companies in both countries felt that it was important that CEOs had international work experience. However only 28 per cent of board members in Australia and 34 per cent of board members in Canada agreed they actively provided their internal CEO candidates with international opportunities.