These Canadian Provinces Have The Most CEO Alumni & Here's Where They Studied
Nearly 8 percent of graduates from the top province went on to set up or run a company.
Queens University in Ontario. RightL McGill University in Quebec.
Chief executive officers who run major corporations and huge businesses had to start somewhere — and it turns out many top CEOs started out right here in Canada.
A new study has revealed the Canadian universities that produce the most CEOs — aka, schools with the highest percentage of their alumni who have gone on to hold chief executive officer or founder positions.
While schools across the country were included in the top 10 results, one province was found to have the most CEO alumni in the country.
Entertainment site CanadaCasino studied LinkedIn data for 50 top Canadian universities to determine the percentage of their alumni who have gone on to hold CEO or founder positions.
The company then compiled a list of the top 10 schools in the country that produce the most CEOs as well as the top provinces with the most CEO alumni.
At number one on the list of schools was Quebec's McGill University, which was found to be the Canadian university producing the most CEOs, with one in 10 alumni going on to lead their businesses.
McGill, which consistently ranks among the top three schools in Canada and among the top schools around the globe, has had many notable alumni, including world leaders, astronauts, and Nobel laureates.
Some of the CEOs who studied at the school include Imran Amed, the founder, CEO & editor-in-chief of The Business of Fashion, Moses Znaimer, the founder and CEO of ZoomerMedia, Mirko Bibic, the CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, and Wael Sawan, the CEO of Shell.
The second top school for CEOs in Canada was found to be Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where 9.6 percent of alumni went on to become CEOs or founders of a company. The school counts among its alumni tech giant Michele Romanow, who is also known for her role on Dragon's Den, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Finally, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver was the third Canadian university producing the most CEOs, with 8.8 percent of alumni going on to establish and lead their own businesses.
British Columbia was also found to be the province producing the most CEOs in Canada — home to just four top schools, according to CanadaCasino, 7.9 percent of alumni from the province go on to set up or run a company, the highest in Canada.
On the top 10 list, B.C. only had one other school, the University of Victoria, where 7.2 percent of alumni go on to become CEOs or founders of a business.
Following B.C. was Ontario, which is home to 17 top colleges and boasts 7% of graduates going on to become a CEO or founder. The province had a total of five schools on the top 10 list of universities producing CEOs in Canada.
Quebec rounded out the top three, where 6.6 percent of alumni go on to become CEOs or founders.
Top Canadian schools for CEOs
Here are the top 10 Canadian universities that produce the most CEOs, according to the report:
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
- Queen's University, Ontario
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.
- Western University, London, Ontario
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
- University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
- Université du Québec, Quebec City, Quebec
- HEC Montreal, Montreal, Quebec; Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
- York University, Toronto, Ontario
- University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C.