Billionaire Epic CEO Judy Faulkner built her $5.7 billion-a-year software firm in a basement. She says not getting an MBA was a ‘really good thing’

Un Apple CEO Tim Cook or General Motors CEO Mary Barra who att school, the 82-year-old charted her own path, including establishing 10 “commandments” a directive to never IPO or sell

For Epic Systems CEO Judy Faulkner, CEO of Epic Systems, whose software powers many of the U.S.’s top hospitals, the answer is simple: a graduate degree may have done more harm than good. “I never got an MBA, which I think is a really good thing,” Faulkner recently told CNBC. “They would have taught me, ‘Here’s how you do venture capital.’ We didn’t do it. ‘Here’s how you go public.’ We didn’t do it. ‘Here’s how you do budgets.’ We don’t have budgets

We say, if you need it, buy it

Her secret to learning the ropes of management still included reading books and taking multiday courses, but she’s just never a blind er

They include “do not go public,” “do not acquire or be acquired,” and “software must work.” CEOs are divided on the value of school While demand for school is on the rise—a trend often seen in conjunction with economic uncertainty— leaders have long placed their doubts on whether the skills taught in the classroom are worth it

In fact, the richest person in the world, billionaire Elon Musk, has said that there are too many school graduates running corporate America. “I think there may be too many MBAs running companies,” Musk previously told the Wall Street Journal. “There’s the MBA-ization of America, which I think is maybe not that great

There should be more focus on the duct or service itself, less time on board meetings, less time on financials.” And he’s not alone

Billionaire and former Shark Tank star Mark Cuban has called getting an MBA “overrated.” PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel said he doesn’t hiring MBA graduates due to them mostly being “high extrovert/low conviction people.” However, if you’re eager to in the footsteps of top leaders the s of Apple CEO Tim Cook, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, school might be in your future

Ultimately, the choice to attend a gram comes down to one’s own personal goals

Barra said her experience at Stanford’s Graduate School of helped her cultivate an everlasting “learning mindset.” “My experiences on campus changed my life and accelerated my career

They prepared me to manage and, ultimately, to lead,” she said in 2024

Explore this year's list.