Top Leadership Development Programs

I agree with Asimov in terms of smaller sized programs are typically better for long term career opportunities. GE hires 100+ MBAs a year from a large variety of different schools. Where as some of the smaller less known LDP's hire 2-6 from only a handful of the top schools. Exit opportunities from the best programs will set you up for either director level or GM type roles within 4-5 years out of school. At which point you are more than doubling your income from when you started in the program.

Some companies will have different functional rotational programs such as finance, marketing, or generalized. It is not uncommon for companies to have multiple rotation programs available. When I was in school Chevron had I think 4 or 5 different ones. Big CPGs typically have both finance and marketing. Manufacturing companies tend to go with broad based programs where you might do finance for one rotation and marketing on another.

Midsized companies often offer much more exposure to the very top level management. I joined a midsized (4billion) publicly traded manufacturing company out of school and routinely met with C-level execs, was mentored by a corporate officer, flew on the company jet more often than commercial, and even presented to the board a few times. That would not have happened at a fortune 100 company. Privately held companies also offer some interesting opportunities, they have stable senior management and often manage for the long term so there are some great development opportunities available.

Some of the best places to join aren't as formally structured as the GE's of the world, and some don't even hire every year. There are some who will basically make a program for you if they see the value in it; it wont necessarily be a "development program" it will just be senior management purposefully rotating you through several different functions to get you prepared to advance.

great posts.
LDP sounds great to me.

So, how competitive is it?
Anything specific they r looking for in candidates??

It depends on the school you go to. In general, I would say getting into a LDP isn’t difficult if you go to a top tier school (maybe top 15-20). However, getting into the one or two that you really want is very competitive. This is compounded by the fact that the LDP may not recruit at all of the schools. To go in from a non-core school is very difficult. Even if you do go to a core school, the LDP may be very limited in its hiring. Oftentimes, they recruit at more schools than the available slots in the program. LDP selectivity is probably similar to management consulting, getting into a consulting company isn’t difficult if you go to a top-tier school, getting into McKinsey is difficult.

As far as characteristics, different LDPs look for different candidates, usually based on fit with the company culture. If there is one common thread, I would say that they look for leadership. The style of leadership varies with the companies – some likes consensus style leadership, some likes authority based leadership. You can kind of get an idea of the style they look for by the schools they focus on. I noticed that Fuqua and Kellogg is common combination for many of the more selective LDPs, since Fuqua and Kellogg are both “team” focused schools.

How difficult would it be to break into these Elite LDPs in the retail, CPG or manufacturing sectors without experience within those industries? Would these be possible with a finance background, strong leadership experience and a top 5 MBA program

There's no specific "elite" LDP like ibanking or consulting. LDPs are very different in nature, and one may be good for you, but not good for others. For example, some rotations are only in rural locations; others rotate you to many different locations, which makes it tough if your spouse has a job.

As long as the LDP recruits at your school actively, you are fine. If it doesn't, you will have a hard time finding out about the program (since many doesn't even post information on the company website about it), also, you'll have a hard time getting your foot in the door. Some LDPs look for specific backgrounds; for example, I believe DuPont like people with marketing and sales experience. Others don't care about your background, especially the general management ones, since they will rotate you across a spectrum of different functions/roles.

I wish I can suggest some LDPs to you, but the ones I pursued don't cross recruit with Chicage or Yale. If you want to find out more about LDPs, I would suggest connecting with the General Management Club at your school.

Good insight here, want to follow the discussion

Hi, I have the following questions regarding LDPs (great thread btw, not a lot of insight on LDPs on the internet from what I've seen)

- Any idea what the average starting salaries are at LDPs? Signing bonuses? I looked around and my feeling is that the top programs are paying on average around 100-110K with a 15-20K signing bonus.

- I realize there is no ranking of LDPs like there are rankings for MC or IB, but is there any general consensus as to what the top programs are? From doing some research it looks like Intel's ADP program is highly regarded. GE's seems so-so regarded. I am wondering if there are any others.

- Is there anyone out there who has actually gone through a LDP and can talk about their experiences?

thanks for any help

you have the starting salary spot on. some of the LDPs come with pretty good perks on top of the salary as well. the standard annual raise is 4-8% excluding the performance based bonus. when you get promoted, you get a pay pump as well (since promotions are build in, you can expect your salary to go up faster than 4-8%). it's hard to gauge the pay 5 years out, but I would put it at around 170-220K.

as a follow up... on the LDPs with exit positions as director or GM, is there a general range of what the starting salary for that position would be? I know it would be different by company but is there a general range?

2 questions:

1) Why few MBA grads opt for LDP - LDP offers good salary and opportunities to quickly rise(which in turn means more power and more increase in salary in less time)
2) What is difference b/w rotational / non-rotational & which is better

I don’t think this is necessarily true. But it is a good question to explore. LDPs tend to attract some of the best students at Fuqua. The low number in LDPs is because there aren’t that many LDP spots out there. In the case, of LDP vs non-LDP cross offers, I think LDP wins out most of the time. There are reasons why people choose not to go into LDPs:
1) The industry/role doesn’t typically have LDP programs. For example, those interested in entrepreneurship, marketing in CPG companies, consulting, investment banking.
2) Some married people cannot handle the rotational nature of LDPs. Although some LDPs allow participants to only rotate roles and not location.
3) The location of the rotations may not be attractive. This is especially true of manufacturing companies, in which the factories aren’t located in big metropolises.
4) The LDP isn’t a real LDP. For example, Citi’s rotational program only rotates people, but does not provide any other benefits.Most if not all LDPs are rotational in natural. Some may only rotate you in a specific function (i.e. marketing & sales), but you will rotate. There are some downsides to rotating (relocating, not developing strong expertise in any specific field, etc.), but the benefits outweigh the downsides (developing a holist view of the company operations, broaden network of contacts, etc.).

Great info. Thanks.

I think you meant non-LDPs win most of the time


I am from semiconductor industry so it would be great if can get some comparitively good paying job in same field post-mba. I decided to do involve in pure MBA domains e.g. marketing, invest banking etc. because i thought semiconductor domain does not have equally good paying opportunities after MBA. Is it true ??

Thanks to you who provided info about Intel LDP. Also, if i work in semiconductor domain my work exp. (4yrs + few patents) will be considered. Are there any other good programs for me


i am an avid traveler and what better than relocating on company's expenses. I know it will not be easy once i am married but me and my gf are up for it



I did not get this, do you mean LDP has lower pay scale


I fully agree to such an extent that i can discount few $K to get into a rotational program. One Question here: lets say i get in to INTEL's rotational LDP, go through all fields and decide to work in Finance in Intel. After working for few years, can i switch to pure financial mgmt. company lets say JP Morgan. Just a vague thought, wanted to know how different is a particular domain (finance here) in different industries (intel & JP Morgan) and how difficult it would be to switch b/w companies

Situation: A student has an offer for a LDP position, and another offer for an analyst position (non-LDP). The student is more likely to take the LDP offer.
Some company's LDP is a LDP in name only. Any company can create a LDP, but the responsibilities, career progressions, and other benefits are not the same.

Asimov - I know there are a wide variety of LDPs and how good they are depend on one's specific needs - but can you comment on which LDPs are generally considered more reputable and have a better career progression?

thanks asimov, your replies will help many of us to make well-informed decisions. Two questions:

1) I am from semiconductor industry(4+yrs and few patents) so it would be great if can get comparitively good paying job in same field post-mba. I decided to do involve in pure MBA domains e.g. marketing, invest banking etc. because i thought semiconductor domain does not have equally good paying opportunities (vs consulting, marketing) after MBA. Is it true ?? and what are good LDPs for me

2) lets say i get in to INTEL's rotational LDP, get through all rotations and decide to work in Finance in Intel. After working for few years, can i switch to pure financial mgmt. company lets say JP Morgan. Just a vague thought, wanted to know how different is a particular domain (finance here) in different industries (intel & JP Morgan) and how difficult it would be to switch b/w companies

I, along with riverripper, think the smaller LDPs tend to be better. I don't have an extensive list of LDPs, since many do not publish. Given my interactions here at Fuqua, I feel the following:

1. I'm not completely understanding what you are asking. But if pay is your primary objective, industry in general doesn't pay as well as consulting or investment banking (but you also work less hours). But you should live pretty comfortably on a salary from a top tier MBA program.
2. I really don't know the transition into financial service post industry.