Most often, CEOs are appointed from within the company because they are familiar with the company culture, as opposed to appointing an external candidate. According to Forbes, “three-quarters of today's top executives were appointed from within,” meaning that promotion from within is common in most companies (Sanders, 2011, p. 2). Companies prefer internal appointments over external appointments because the candidate knows the company policies and everyone there. This also means that the company takes less risk in appointing within the company. On average, it takes around 16 years for an executive to be appointed CEO. On the other hand, executives with experience in various companies and appointed as CEOs are able to bring a fresh perspective that allows them to leverage what they have learned during their time in the different companies that they they led (Sanders, 2011, p. 2). ). Although CEOs are appointed from a variety of backgrounds, a degree is important to land an executive job and start making the move toward leadership.