Chemical & Engineering
NEW AUGUST 19, 1968
CHICAGO FIRM PROFILES R&D CHIEFS Top research and development executives have had their turn at the hands of statistical analysts. In essence, the typical executive is a 51-year-old Ph.D. chemist with the title of vice president of R&D. He earns a base salary of more than $30,000 per year and receives an annual bonus of 20% of that base pay. The analysis is from a survey of 232 R&D chiefs in 540 of the largest U.S. industrial companies. The survey, "Profile of a Chief Research and Development Executive," was released last week by Heidrick and Struggles, a Chicago-based management consulting firm. The typical top R&D chief majored
in engineering (41.4%) or chemistry (36.8%) in undergraduate school. Massachusetts Institute of Technology claims the largest share of the undergraduates, 4.5%. Indicating a significant number of foreign-born R&D executives, 3.6% of them attended foreign universities. Other popular undergraduate schools are the University of Illinois with 3.2% and the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and Purdue with 2.3% each. About 70% of the graduates charged off to graduate school; 53% emerged with Ph.D.'s. MIT was again the most popular choice of the upcoming R&D chief. Nine per cent attended gradu-
Ph.D. chemists constitute a near-majority of R&D chief executives
ate school there. The University of Illinois again holds second place with 6.6%, and Harvard follows with 4.8%. Graduate schools that account for 3.6% of the R&D executives each are the University of California, Institute of Paper Chemistry, University of Michigan, Northwestern, Princeton, and the University of Wisconsin. There is a fairly widespread trend of earning B.S. and advanced degrees at the same school, John S. Wilson, vice president and head of Heidrick and Struggles' technical executive selection, notes. By far, the most preferred advanced degree is a Ph.D. in chemistry
Heidrick and Struggles' Wilson More chemistry than anything else
AUG. 19, 1968 C&EN
11
Educational backgrounds of R & D chiefs vary little with company size . . .
1 1
Companies by sales volume $150 million $250 m/"///on Under to to $150 million $250 million $500 million
Advanced degree M.S.-Engineering
12.5%
15.6%
14.7%
M.S.-Chemistry M.S.-Other science M.S.-Mathematics M.B.A. Other masters & law
Advanced management programs Total
2.5 1.8
1.7
4.4
— — —
— 5.9
8.9
50.0 6.3
11.9%
— —
— —
Ph.D.-Chemistry Other Ph.D. & M.D.
6.9% 5.2
2.9
18.7
Total
2.2 12.5
Ph.D.-Engineering
Over $500 million
—
2.9
2.2
—
1.3
11.8 41.2
11.1 44.5
12.1
12.5
44.8
43.8
17.7
13.3
24.1
18.1 3.7 100.0%
—
2.9
2.2
5.2
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
. . . but salaries grow with sales volume
Base salary
j
Companies by sales volume $150 million $250 million Under to to $150 million $250 million $500 million
Under $30,000
39.1%
$30-$34,999
26.1
7.5
$35-$39,999
17.4
22.5%
19.1%
Over $500 million
Total
8.3%
18.9%
23.4
13.3
16.6
27.5
4.3
10.0
13.7
20.0
18.8
$40-$49,999
17.4
15.0
19.1
$50-$64,999
— — — —
25.0
21.3
30.0
21.7
2.5
10.7
8.3
6.3
— —
2.1
8.3
3.4
—
1.8
0.6
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
$65-$79,999 $80-$100,000 Over $100,000 Total
100.0%
(43.8%). A Ph.D. in engineering is held by 12.5% of the executives surveyed, and 11.9% hold an M.S. in engineering. The high percentage of chemists and chemical engineers among the chief R&D executives reflects the large portion of the nation's research that is conducted by the chemical process and related industries, Mr. Wilson points out. The more populous states have produced a majority of the R&D chiefs, and the six most populous states employ more than half of them. The places of birth include New York (10.7%), Ohio (8.4%), Pennsylvania (7.1%), Illinois (6.2%), and Massachusetts (6.2%). Excluding Canada, 7.6% of the top R&D executives orig12 C&EN AUG. 19, 1968
inally hail from countries other than the U.S. Locations of the principal R&D facilities are New Jersey (12.3%), Illinois (10.3%), California (7.2%), Ohio (7.2%), New York (7.0%), and Pennsylvania (6.8%). Nearly one third of the R&D chiefs have worked for their present companies only; another 22.5% changed jobs once. However, 24.7% of the executives each worked for three firms, and 12.8% are with their fourth employers. The typical chief R&D executive, Mr. Wilson says, joined his present employer at age 35, moved into his present position at 46, and is now 51. He achieved the top R&D spot through research management.
LIQUID CRYSTALS:
Color of Light Switched After one of the longer gestation periods in scientific annals, liquid crystals are now, after 80 years, being pushed fast toward maturity by ambitious sponsors in both education and industry. In the heat of development, public attention has gone mostly to the prodigy's applications, such as temperature-sensing surface coatings. But the theoretical underpinnings for these effects are also taking shape. The latest wave of disclosures took place last week at the second international liquid crystal conference at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. Occupying much of the stage were the ma-
