Facial traits of CEOs correlate with higher pay, study says

[underpants]

Source: Scripps News

Titled "A Corporate Beauty Contest," the study asked nearly 2,000 people, mostly college and graduate school students, to rate the facial traits of corporate CEOs alongside non-CEOs and the heads of smaller companies. The results suggest that looks do indeed matter in corporate boardrooms.

"Our results suggest that CEOs who look competent have higher pay, but their companies do not necessarily do better," said Manju Puri, who wrote the study along with fellow Fuqua School of Business finance professors Campbell Harvey and John Graham. "So that should be a matter of concern."

The study was conducted online and included only photos of white males who were taken from a 2004 database of CEOs. The participants did not know who the men in the photos were. All the photos were of men in business dress in conventional poses in front of bland backgrounds.

In one part of the study, participants were presented with 87 pairs of photos -- one CEO and one non-CEO -- and asked to note which person was more competent, trustworthy, likable and attractive.


Read more: http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/facial-traits-ceos-correlate-higher-pay-study-says

---

The MSN article that lead to the Scripps story
Search: 'A Corporate Beauty Contest'
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/popular-searches.aspx?cp-documentid=24233609&imageindex=1

[xchrom]

1. I always find stuff like this interesting. Nt

[underpants]

5. It is the Masters of the Universe thing/syndrome in stastics

but looks obviously don't always determine things- look at GE's Jack Welch and Greenspan and Bill Gates none of them look like what this study says but they are exulted into the "better than you are" status while their underlings act like contestants on "The Apprentice".

[Webster Green]

9. The current wall street fiasco makes me want to read 'Bonfire of the Vanities' again.

I believe I will. Might make me feel better. :smoke:

[SharonAnn]

18. Read "Liars' Poker". It's even more accurate , more interesting, and it's real!

[Webster Green]

20. OK.

Thanks! It must be good.

I loved 'Bonfire'. Couldn't put it down and ROFL the whole way through.

[Mike K]

10. While you're quite right that -

- looks don't always determine things, the fact is looks almost always do influence things to a very significant degree in just about every area of human endeavor. As far as the Gates example is concerned, Bill Gates didn't rise to the top of Microsoft -- he began at the top. Otherwise his soft, nerdy appearance would assuredly have held him back. In a boardroom atmosphere, Gates would look like a catfish in a barracuda tank.

Welch and Greenspan certainly are exceptions to the appearance rule, but I'm sure that close scrutiny of their respective accessions would reveal some extremely unusual circumstances, probably along the lines of political intervention.

The one characteristic that helped George W. Bush get elected was his appearance. Regardless of what we know to be his incompetent, degenerate reality, Bush did indeed look presidential.

[lunatica]

12. If strutting and smirking are presidential then yeah

George had the look.

I definitely disagree with you. To look presidential one must at the very least look like they have some gravitas. Bush spoke with a fake texan twang, winked and bobbled his head up and down and couldn't complete a sentence to save his life.

Please!

[elehhhhna]

15. yeah. he looked prezzydential until he got the job...

[jxnmsdemguy65]

22. Only a retarded class-less jerk would wear cowboy boots with a tux.

No style, no substance.

[libodem]

2. Love to see the

same stats only with politicians.

[DJ13]

3. Pinched little rat faces with balding heads and beady eyes

Did that really need a study?

[IndianaJoe]

7. LOL n/t

[Mike K]

11. How far do you suppose -

- Henry Waxman would rise in the typical corporate environment? How would you like to see that face looking in your window on a rainy night?

Michael Chertoff is another beauty. That fellow missed his calling. If he would register with Central Casting there is no doubt he would have leading roles in the next ten horror movies. Why is it he comes to mind whenever I hear the word, ghoul?

[northernlights]

17. ...

:rofl:

[RKP5637]

4. Yep, it's all in the act, not necessarily competency IMO. I've seen it so

many times over and over where I've worked. And they are all out of business now, once high flying successful companies, but wrong decisions in the Captain's Quarters took them under, all of them.

[underpants]

6. As Wesley Clark said before the Iraq War

Wars are not won by generals they are won at the Captain and below level. Generals can only lose wars.

[KT2000]

8. even the EXXON guy? n/t

[Xipe Totec]

13. How does one go about looking competent?

[WinkyDink]

14. "Ugly" must be a major trait.

[BrklynLiberal]

16. Pasty-faced, thinning hair, jowely, small beady eyes, big hairy nose and ears,

and gout!!!

Ta-da!!!

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. The most telling sentence:

"included only photos of white males "

[daleo]

21. They should try this test on used car salesmen

I have a hunch the results would be similar.