Supply Chain

The Best College Major for Aspiring CEOs

Jan. 2, 2012

As the New Year sees college students returning to school, and the annual ritual of the application process for high school seniors, we might consider the counsel of retired Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley.

In a recent column, Lafley strongly argues that the best education for aspiring business leaders is one rooted in the liberal arts.

This might be surprising coming from someone who spent 33 years at the consumer goods giant.

Still, his argument is compelling:

"The formula for businesses trying to compete in today's economy is simple: hire employees with the mental agility, leadership and passion to navigate constant change -- in other words, hire those who are liberally educated."

Click to read the full column here.

About the Author

Andrew R. Thomas Blog | Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business

Andrew R. Thomas, Ph.D., is associate professor of marketing and international business at the University of Akron; and, a member of the core faculty at the International School of Management in Paris, France.

He is a bestselling business author/editor, whose 23 books include, most recently, American Shale Energy and the Global Economy: Business and Geopolitical Implications of the Fracking Revolution, The Customer Trap: How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake in Business, Global Supply Chain Security, The Final Journey of the Saturn V, and Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service and Safety.

His book The Distribution Trap was awarded the Berry-American Marketing Association Prize for the Best Marketing Book of 2010. Another work, Direct Marketing in Action, was a finalist for the same award in 2008.

Andrew is founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transportation Security and a regularly featured analyst for media outlets around the world.

He has traveled to and conducted business in 120 countries on all seven continents.