Business Class Connections: Eton? That'll do nicely, sir. The old boy network still runs the show - but alternative cultures are starting to loosen its hold. David Bowen reports

THIRTY years ago, tradition decreed that every Friday in the City of London you wore your old school tie.

Those were the days when junior brokers and underwriters, often straight from public school, would sit on a stool writing clients' names in leather-bound books. They would move slowly to more important stools and, eventually, to a seat on the board. In the go-go, hi-tech world of the City in the 1990s, such activity sounds rather quaint.

Except that it is precisely these people who are running the City, and will be for a good few years to come. An 18-year-old Etonian who joined a stockbroker in 1962 would, after all, be only 48 now: he will be on his senior stool well into the next century.

The Independent on Sunday looked at the backgrounds of 97 senior partners or chief executives of the top City firms: 10 went to Eton, nine to Winchester and 37 to other public schools. That 30 of the top City gents did not go to college confirms the leather-bound book image. If they went anywhere, they went to Oxbridge: only 12 of the 52 graduates of British universities went to a redbrick.

The analysis also examined the pasts of top industrialists: the FT-SE 100 chief executives and chairmen and, separately, more than 3,000 directors of medium-to-large companies listed in Who's Who in Industry (less than 2 per cent of whom are women). It found that:

The FT-SE 100 is run by public-school old boys just as much as the City is, although the spread of schools is much broader. The Catholic schools Ampleforth and Downside stand out, with three directors apiece.

Though top public schools are the biggest individual providers of directors on the Who's Who list, urban grammar and direct-grant schools do well. Manchester Grammar, King Edward VI, Birmingham, and King Edward VII, Sheffield, each produced 15 top directors or more.

Scotland is strongly represented in the industrial list, and virtually absent in the City.

Business schools have had a much greater impact among the upper echelons of industry than the City. Not a single City boss has an MBA, while 12 FT-SE top executives do. Of the 2,249 industrial directors who name their university in Who's Who in Industry, 100 went to business school: 44 to Harvard.

About 28 per cent of the Who's Who directors went to Oxford or Cambridge. The Cambridge colleges that generated most are Trinity, St John's and Jesus, while Christ Church, New College and Balliol head the Oxford list. Trinity, with 38 directors, would come tenth on the overall list if it was a separate university.

The so-called new universities and polytechnics have yet to get much of a look-in.

Though Sussex, oldest of the new universities, now has a FT-SE 100 chief executive (Robert Wilson of RTZ), the overall representation is poor. In the broader list, Sussex provides only nine directors, while York and Essex fail to show up. The only polytechnic (formerly a college) that scores respectably is City of London. Technically based universities (colleges of advanced technology until the late 1960s) do better, with Salford, Aston and Loughborough providing 53 directors among them.

Although all these figures refer to people who have already made it to the top - and probably completed their education at least 20 years ago - there are good reasons to suppose that the pattern is changing only slowly.

Richard Addis, senior partner of the headhunter Tyzack, says that the recruitment process makes this inevitable. 'People like to have similar types around them. It is like a marriage: you tend to choose people from the same social background.'

So in the City, public school and Oxbridge still dominate, though the shade of blue running through a company's veins varies. School bills are likely to have been highest for merchant bankers and stockbrokers, with lawyers coming next, and clearing bankers and accountants bringing up the rear. But within these categories there are great variations. Cazenove and NM Rothschild are dark blue, for example, while Schroder and SG Warburg are not: they even have a lot more women working for them.

It is possible to argue that public schools have a fundamental advantage in a social place such as the City. 'A lot of people found out about informal management at boarding- school,' says Hywel Williams, co-author of Old School Ties. 'People learned how to get on without being too obviously aggressive.' Others disagree: on Thursday the Sun called Robin Leigh- Pemberton, Governor of the Bank of England, an 'Eton-educated twit'.

The 1980s boom diluted the public school strain. Sussex University, whose students had formerly been known for their attachment to world revolution, suddenly found it was sending graduates to merchant banks. The first one joined Rothschild in 1985 and, says Carolyn Morris of the Occupational Advisory Service, 'for four or five years there was a lot of interest'. But she says interest has now dropped among students and employers.

At ICI, the continuity of culture encourages another type of recruit. 'The typical ICI manager is a northern or Scottish lad who went to grammar school and non-Oxbridge university,' says John Edgar, a company spokesman. Of the nine board members, only two went to Oxbridge; of the 170 most senior managers, 33 did.

The dominance of public schools and Oxbridge in business might be seen as evidence that an upper-crust network of mutual backscratchers still exists, feeding each other business leads. There is some truth in this image: only last week, a report said too many non-executive directors were chosen through the 'old boy network'. But networks need not be sinister: they are a natural part of business, used by everyone. Richard Addis says they are vital: 'I use all sorts of old ties - school, university and regiment.'

He also believes that at least one school tie really does work magic. 'To be an Etonian is staggeringly valuable still: it means you can establish an immediate rapport.'

This may be true - Eton has a culture no other school can match. But as Mr Williams points out, 'there are plenty of Old Etonian failures'. Helen Murlis, director of Hay Management Consultants, says: 'The old school tie is by no means dead, but you have to have ability too. Fifteen years ago, it was who you were that counted. Now the business environment is too tough, though ability and connections are still a pretty good combination.'

An Oxbridge education undoubtedly helps many people on to the first rung of the ladder, but as a network it is a dead loss. Ms Murlis says: 'I'd feel very false ringing someone up from my old college. I'd have to have a better reason.'

The recent creation of the verb 'to network' underlines the health of the contacts business. It also suggests, correctly, that 'networking' was not set up as an attempt to counter the entrenched webs of Old Etonians or Freemasons, but was imported from the United States, where it is seen as a way of boosting business.

Saving France's grandes ecoles, American-style business schools provide the most tightly knotted old school ties. Graduates of Harvard or Insead will often use the alumni handbook ruthlessly to oil business wheels.

But non-MBAs have been creating their own networks. John Courtis did, unconsciously copying the Rotary Club system: one person from each of a number of professions was recruited, and brought together at lunch. Likewise, the City Women's Network was set up by American bankers in London. 'It's very much about making business contacts,' Ms Murlis says.

The most important networks are still those that are natural, however. Social contacts are best of all - and no one has better social contacts than the City folk who wear the right school ties. One of the more blue-blooded merchant banks is, according to a close observer, not only packed with public school boys, they are public school boys who meet each other at weekends to hunt, to shoot, and to fish. During the week, they are often spotted together at Annabel's. That many of them are Etonians is, of course, irrelevant.

----------------------------------------------------------------- CITY ----------------------------------------------------------------- BANKS Abbey National Ch: Sir Christopher Tugendhat Ampleforth; Gonville and Caius, Cambridge GCE Peter Birch Allhallows School, Devon Bank of England Gov: Robin Leigh-Pemberton Eton; Trinity Oxford Bank of Scotland Gov: Bruce Pattullo Rugby School; Hertford, Oxford Barclays Bank Ch: Sir John Quinton Norwich School; St John's, Camb GMD: Andrew Buxton Winchester Coll; Pembroke Coll, Oxford Cater Allen Ch and MD: James Barclay Harrow; Grenoble Univ Charterhouse Bank Ch and CE: Victor Blank Stockport Grammar; St Catherine's Oxford Coutts and Co Ch: Sir David Money-Coutts Eton; New College Oxford MD: Ian Farnsworth Nottingham High

Hongkong Bank Ch: William Purves Kelso High School Lloyds Bank Ch: Sir Jeremy Morse Winchester, New College, Oxford CE: Brian Pitman Cheltenham Grammar School Midland Bank Ch: Sir Peter Walters King Edward's, B'ham; B'ham Univ CE: Brian Pearse St Edwards Coll, Liverpool National Westminster Ch: Lord Alexander Brighton College; King's Cambridge CE: Derek Wanless Royal Grammar School, Newcastle; King's, Camb Royal Bank of Scotland Ch: George Younger Winchester; New College Oxford MD: Robert Maiden Montrose Academy Standard Chartered Ch: Rodney Galpin Haileybury; Imperial Service College TSB Group CH: Sir Nicholas Goodison Marlborough Coll; King's Coll, Camb

STOCKBROKERS Bell Lawrie, Edin Ch: Mark Tennant Eton James Capel Ch: Bernard Asher London School of Economics Cazenove SP: Anthony Forbes Eton SP: John Kemp-Welch Winchester Charterhouse Tilney Ch: Michael Mason Wrekin College Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ch: Sir Peter Middleton Sheffield City Grammar; Sheffield Univ Hoare Govett Securities MD and CE: Peter Meinertzhagen Eton Kleinwort Benson Ch: David Peake Ampleforth; Christ Church, Oxford NatWest Markets CE: Martin Owen Brecon Boys Grammar Panmure Gordon Grp CE: Richards Roddey US School; US Naval Academy, Annapolis Smith New Court Ch: Sir Michael Richardson Harrow; Kent School, US UBS Phillips & Drew Ch: Rudi Mueller N/A (abroad)

MERCHANT BANKS Barings Ch: Peter Baring Eton; Magdalene, Cambridge Dep ch: James Rivett-Carnac Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Robert Fleming & Co Ch: John Manser Marlborough Guinness Mahon & Co CE: David Potter Bryanston, Univ Coll Oxford Hambros Bank Ch and CE: Chips Keswick Eton; Univ of Aix/Marseilles Hambros plc Ch: Charles Hambro Eton Lazard Brothers Ch: Michel David-Weill Inst de Sciences Politiques, Paris CE: David Verey Eton; Trinity, Cambridge Samuel Montagu CE: Christoper Sheridan Berkhamsted School Morgan Grenfell CE: John Craven Michaelhouse, SA; Jesus, Camb NM Rothschild and Sons Ch: Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Harrow; Trinity, Cambridge J Henry Schroder Wagg Ch: WFW Bischoff N/A (abroad) Schroders plc Exec ch: George Mallinckrodt Schule Schloss Salem, Germany; NY Univ Singer & Friedlander Ch: Anthony Solomons

Oundle SG Warburg Ch: Sir David Scholey Wellington; Christ Church Oxford INSURANCE BROKERS Bain Clarkson Ch and CE: Simon Arnold Diocesan College, Cape Town, SA CT Bowring Ch and CE: Philip Wroughton Eton Gibbs Hartley Cooper Ch: Graham Puttergill St Patrick's Sch, Port Elizabeth, SA Hogg Group Ch: James Vaughn Cranbrook Sch, Mich; Cornell Univ, US Jardine Insurance Brokers Ch: Rodney Leach Harrow; Balliol, Oxford Lowndes Lambert CE: Richard Shaw Eton Sedgwick UK Ch: David Rowland St Paul's School; Trinity, Cambridge Willis Corroon Ch: Roger Elliott Brighton College

LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES Abbey Life Assurance MD: Alan Frost Stratford County Grammar; Manchester Univ Commercial Union CE: Anthony Brend N/A Eagle Star Ch: Martin Broughton Westminster City Grammar Equitable Life VP: Timothy Abell Marlborough; Corpus Christi Oxford Equity and Law Ch and GM: Christopher Brocksom Bristol Grammar; Trinity, Camb Friends Provident MD: Michael Doerr Rutlish School, London General Accident Ch and GM: Nelson Robertson Berwick Grammar; Edinburgh Univ Guardian Royal Exchange CE: Sidney Hopkins Battersea Grammar College Legal and General GCE: David Prosser Ogmore Grammar Sch, Bridgend; Univ College, Aberystwyth Norwich Union Grp CE: Allan Bridgewater Wyggeston Grammar School, Leicester Prudential Corp Grp CE: Mick Newmarch Tottenham County Grammar; London Univ (ext) Scottish Amicable Ch: W Brown Ayr Academy; Edinburgh Univ

Scottish Equitable CE: David Berridge Jedburgh Grammar; Edinburgh Univ Scottish Provident Ch: David Woods Huddersfield New Coll; Churchill, Camb Sun Alliance GCE: Roger Neville St Edwards School, Oxford Sun Life Ch: Peter Grant Winchester; Magdalen Oxford

INVESTMENT TRUST MANAGERS GT Management CE: Peter Stephens Winchester Coll; Taft Sch, US M&G Group CE: Lawrence (Paddy) Linaker Malvern College MIM Britannia CE: Nicholas Johnson Stonyhurst Coll; Magdalen Oxford Touche Remnant and Co Ch and CE: Paul Manduca Harrow; Oxford

INVESTMENT ADVISERS Mercury Asset Management Ch: Peter Stormonth Darling Winchester; Oxford

SOLICITORS Allen and Overy SP: John Kennedy Univ College, London Clifford Chance SP: Nigel Fox Bassett Taunton School, Trinity, Cambridge Freshfields SP: John Grieves King's Worcester; Oxford Herbert Smith SP: John Rowson Beckenham Grammar School Linklaters & Paines SP: Mark Sheldon Wycliffe Coll; Corpus Christi, Oxford Lovell White Durrant SP: Cavan Taylor King's Coll Sch, Wimbledon; Emmanuel Cambs Simmons & Simmons Alan Carr Gresham's Sch, Holt; King's, Camb Slaughter and May SP: George Inglis Winchester; Pembroke Oxford Stephenson Harwood SP: Anthony Isaacs Cheltenham Coll; Pembroke, Cambridge Theodore Goddard SP: Stuart May Taunton Sch; Wadham, Oxford

ACCOUNTANTS Arthur Andersen ManP: Roy Chapman Kettering GS; St Catherine's, Cambridge BDO Binder Hamlyn Natl ManP: John Norton Winchester; Cambridge Coopers and Lybrand Ch: Brandon Gough Douai; Jesus, Cambridge Ernst and Young Elwyn Eilledge Oswestry Boys High; Merton, Oxford Grant Thornton ManP: David McDonnell Quarry Bank High School Liverpool Pannell Kerr Forster ManP: John Baird Allan Glens Sch; Glasgow Univ Price Waterhouse Ian Brindle Blundell's Peat Marwick Jim Butler Marlborough; Clare, Cambridge Stoy Hayward Paul Hipps Clifton College Touche Ross ManP: John Roques St Alban's School

Glaxo Ch: Sir Paul Girolami London School of Economics CE: Dr Ernest Mario Rutgers College of Pharmacy, New Brunswick, NJ; University of Rhode Island (PhD) British Telecom Ch: Ian Vallance Edinburgh Acad, Dulwich College, Glasgow, Brasenose Coll, Oxford; London School of Business Studies (MSc) Shell Ch and MD: Sir Peter Holmes Malvern Coll; Trinity Coll, Cambridge BAT Inds Ch and CE: Sir Patrick Sheehy Ampleforth College Guinness Ch: Sir Anthony Tennant Eton; Trinity, Cambridge CE: Tony Greener Marlborough College BP Ch: David Simon Christ's Hospital; Conville & Caius, Cambridge (MA Hons); MBA INSEAD British Gas Ch and CE: Robert Evans Old Swan College; Blackburn College; City of Liverpool College; Liverpool Univ

Hanson Ch: Lord Hanson Oundle School Hongkong Bank Ch: William Purves Kelso High School Marks and Spencer Ch and CE: Sir Richard Greenbury Ealing County Grammar School GrandMet Ch and Grp CE: Sir Allen Sheppard Ilford County School; London School of Economics BTR Ch: Sir Owen Green Stockton-on-Tees Grammar School CE: Alan Jackson Warragul High School, Aus; Hemmingway Robertson Inst; Harvard Bus School (MBA) J Sainsbury Ch and CE: Lord Sainsbury Stowe School; Worcester Coll, Oxford ICI Ch: Sir Denys Henderson Aberdeen Grammar School; University of Aberdeen; Brunel Univ; Cranfield Institute of Technology COO: Ronald Hampel Canford Unilever Ch: Michael Perry King William's College, Isle of Man; St Johns, Cambridge Wellcome Ch: Sir Alastair Frame Broxburn High School; Glasgow Univ; Cambridge Univ CE: John Robb Daniel Stewart's Coll, Edinburgh GEC MD: Lord Arnold Weinstock University of London Cable & Wireless CE: James Ross Sherborne; Oxford NatWest Bank CE: Derek Wanless Royal Grammar School, Newcastle; King's College, Cambridge SmithKline Beecham CE: Robert Bauman Ohio Wesleyan Univ; Harvard MBA

RTZ Ch: Sir Derek Birkin Hemsworth Grammar School; Cranfield College; Harvard Business School CE: Robert Wilson Epsom College; Sussex Univ Lloyds Bank Ch: Sir Jeremy Morse Winchester; New College, Oxford CE: Brian Ivor Pitman Cheltenham Grammar School Allied-Lyons Ch: Michael Jackaman Felsted; Jesus, Cambridge CE: Anthony Hales Repton School, Bristol Univ Barclays Ch: Sir John Quinton Norwich School; St John's, Cambridge Grp MD: Andrew Buxton Winchester Coll, Pembroke Coll, Oxford

Boots CE: Sir James Blyth Spiers School; Glasgow Univ Reuters CE: Peter Job Clifton Coll; Oxford Univ Prudential Grp CE: Mick Newmarch Tottenham County Grammar Sch; London Univ (external) Bass Ch and CE: Ian Prosser King Edward's School Bath; Watford Grammar School; Birmingham Univ Tesco Ch: Sir Ian MacLaurin Malvern College Argyll Group Ch and CE: Sir Alistair Grant Woodhouse Grove School, Yorks Great Universal Stores Ch: Lord Wolfson King's School, Worcester Abbey National Ch: Sir Christopher Tugendhat Ampleforth; Gonville and Caius, Cambridge Grp CE: Peter Birch Allhallows

BAA CE: Sir John Egan Bablake School, Coventry; Imperial Coll, London Univ; London Business School (MSc Econ) Rothmans International Ch: Lord Swaythling Eton; Trinity Coll, Cambridge (BA) Cadbury Schweppes Grp CE: Dominic Cadbury Eton; Trinity, Cambridge; Stanford Univ Nat Power Ch: Sir Trevor Holdsworth Hanson Grammar School, Bradford; Keighley Grammar School CE: John Baker Harrow Weald County Grammar Sch; Oriel Coll, Oxford BOC Group Ch: Patrick Rich Gymnase Jacques Sturm, Strasbourg; Univ of Strasbourg; Harvard special graduate student Vodafone CE: Gerald Arthur Whent St Mary's Coll, Southampton Reed International Ch and CE: Peter Davis Shrewsbury Thorn EMI Ch and CE: Colin Southgate City of London School Kingfisher Ch and CE: Geoffrey Mulcahy King's School, Worcester; Manchester Univ; Harvard (MBA) Commercial Union CE: Anthony Brend N/A Inchcape Ch: Sir David Orr High School, Dublin; Trinity Coll, Dublin Scot Power Ch: Sir Donald Miller Banchory Academy; University of Aberdeen CE: Ian Preston Kilmarnock Academy; University of Glasgow Sun Alliance Grp CE: Roger Neville St Edward's, Oxford Reckitt and Colman Ch: Sir Michael Colman Eton CE: Vernon Sankey Harrow; Oriel, Oxford PowerGen CE: Ed Wallis N/A

P&O Ch: Lord Sterling Reigate Grammar, Preston Manor County; Guildhall School of Music General Accident Ch and GM: Nelson Robertson Berwick Grammar; Edinburgh Univ British Airways Ch: Lord King Dunsfold village school, Surrey CE: Sir Colin Marshall University Coll Sch, Hampstead TSB Group Ch: Sir Nicholas Goodison Marlborough Coll; King's Coll, Cambridge Land Securities Ch and MD: Peter Hunt Bedford Sch; College of Estate Management AB Foods Ch: Garry Weston Sir William Borlase Sch, Marlow; New Coll, Oxford; Harvard Whitbread CE: Peter Jarvis Bolton grammar; Christ's, Camb Courtaulds CE: Sipko Huismans Slanderton High; Stellenbosch Univ, SA Thames Water Ch: Roy Watts Doncaster Grammar School; Edinburgh Univ Scottish and Newcastle Grp CE: Brian Stewart Perth Academy; Edinburgh Univ

Redland Ch: Sir Colin Corness Uppingham Sch; Magdalene, Cambridge; Harvard Business School CE: Robert Napier Sedbergh School; Sidney Sussex, Cambridge Pearson Ch and CE: Viscount Blakenham Eton; Harvard Univ Ladbroke Group Ch and Jt MD: Cyril Stein N/A Arjo Wiggins Appleton Ch: Cob Stenham Eton Coll; Trinity Coll, Cambridge Bowater CE: David Lyon Wellington; Magdalen Oxford; Harvard Bus School North West Water Ch: Dennis Grove Gowerton School; King's Coll, London Legal & General Grp CE: David Prosser Ogmore Grammar Sch, Bridgend; Univ College, Aberystwyth Rentokil Group CE: Clive Thompson Clifton College; Birmingham Univ Rank Organisation MD and CE: Michael Gifford LSE (BSc Econ) Severn Trent Ch: John Bellak Uppingham School; Haute Ecole Commerciale, Lausanne; Clare, Cambridge

Enterprise Oil Ch and CE: Graham Hearne George Dixon Grammar School, Birmingham Smith & Nephew Ch: Eric Kinder Ashton-under-Lyme Grammar and Accrington Grammar (left 14); night school degree Northern Foods Ch: Christopher Haskins St Columbia's Coll, Dublin; Trinity College, Dublin Anglian Water Ch: Bernard Henderson Ampleforth; Harvard Business School United Biscuits Ch: Robert Clarke Dulwich College; Pembroke, Oxford TI Group Ch and CE: Christopher Lewinton Acton Technical College; Univ of London NFC Ch: James Watson Watford Grammar School; Stanford Univ Rolls-Royce Ch: Sir Ralph Robbins The Herbert Strutt School, Derby; Imperial College, London CE: Terence Harrison Durham Univ Tomkins CE: Greg Hutchings Uppingham School, Aston Univ

Bank of Scotland Grp CE and Gov: Bruce Pattullo Rugby School; Hertford, Oxford English China Clay CE: Andrew Teare Kingswood School, Bath; University College, London Royal Bank of Scotland Ch: George Younger Winchester; New College, Oxford Carlton Communications Ch: Michael Green Haberdashers' Aske's MD: Keith Edelman Haberdashers' Aske's; Manchester Univ Siebe Ch and CE: Barrie Stephens Christ College; Manchester Univ Guardian Royal Exchange CE: Sidney Hopkins Battersea Grammar College Williams Holdings Ch: Nigel Rudd Bemrose Grammar Sch, Derby Scottish Hydro CE: Roger Young Gordonstoun; Edinburgh University Cranfield Business School WH Smith Ch and CE: Sir Simon Michael Hornby Eton; New College, Oxford Lasmo CE: Chris Greentree Canadian school; Univ of Alberta Granada Group Gerry Robinson St Mary's College, Lancs Southern Electric Ch: Duncan Ross Dingwall Academy; Glasgow Univ; Burmah Castrol Ch and CE: Lawrence Urquhart Strathallan, Perthshire; King's College, London Fisons Ch: Patrick Egan Downside

De La Rue Ch: Peter Orchard Downside; Magdalene, Cambridge Forte Ch: Lord Charles Forte Alloa Academy; Dumfries College; Mamiani, Rome CE: Rocco Forte Downside; Pembroke, Oxford Sears Ch: Geoffrey Maitland Smith University College Sch, London Blue Circle Grp MD: James McColgan Hull Grammar School; Hull Coll of Technology Tate & Lyle Ch and CE: Neil Shaw Knowlton High School, Montreal; Lower Canada College, Montreal BET CE: John Clark School in US; Wharton School, Univ of Penn MB-Caradon Grp CE: Peter Jansen Partown Boys' School, Johannesburg Kwik Save MD and CE: Graeme Seabrook Box Hill Technical Coll; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia Coats Viyella Ch: Sir David Alliance School in Iran Eastern Electric Ch and CE: James Smith Bellevue Secondary, Edinburgh; Herriot Watt & Strathclyde Eurotunnel Ch and CE: Sir Alastair Morton St John's College; Witwatersrand Univ, Johannesburg; Worcester, Oxford Ch = chairman, CE chief executive, MD managing director, Grp MD group managing director, SP senior partner, ManP managing partner, GM general manager, COO chief operating officer

Research by Kate Pritchard.

City names from 'Who's Who in the City'. The 1993 edition will be published by Macmillan Press in 1993 at pounds 95. Industry names from 'Who's Who in Industry', Fulcrum Publishing, who analysed them for this article. -----------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------- SCHOOLED FOR SUCCESS ----------------------------------------------------------------- City versus Industry* School City Industry Eton 10 7 Winchester 9 0 Harrow 5 1 Marlborough 4 1 Ampleforth 2 2 Downside 0 3 King's, Worcs 1 2 Uppingham 0 3 Oundle 1 1 Wellington 1 1 Rugby 1 0 Other English public 22 26 Total English public 56 47 Eng grammar/dir grant 24 20 Other Eng state 0 3 Scottish state 3 6 Scottish private 0 4 Abroad 7 9 University Cambridge 20 13 Oxford 20 12 London 3 10 Redbrick 4 10 Scottish 5 10 Abroad 12 11 None 30 27 Business school 0 12 *City companies include most important banks, stockbrokers, insurers, accountants, lawyers. Exec chrm, chief execs or snr partners. Industry: FT-SE 100 companies, excl those in City list. Chief execs, exec chrm -----------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------- BUSINESS SCHOLARS* ----------------------------------------------------------------- Harvard 44 London Business School 23 Cranfield 15 Manchester 12 INSEAD 8 Stanford 8 *Sample: 2,249 directors by first degree at university/college in UK and Ireland Source for both tables 'Who's Who in Industry' -----------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------- TOP SCHOOLS, TOP EXECS* ----------------------------------------------------------------- Eton 78 Rugby 38 Winchester 31 Charterhouse 27 Oundle 27 Marlborough 25 Harrow 24 Stowe 22 Uppingham 22 Manchester Grammar 22 Shrewsbury 20 Clifton College 19 Bedford School 18 Wellington College 17 Haileybury 17 King Edward VI, B'ham 17 Downside 16 King Edward VII, Sheffield 15 Dulwich College 15 St Pauls 15 Merchant Taylors', Northwood 15 *Sample: 3,106 directors in companies with sales of more than pounds 90m. Schools attended by 5 or more directors -----------------------------------------------------------------

(Photographs omitted)