Four in 10 UK bosses are now non-UK nationals, a 31 per cent increase since 2006
The number of FTSE 100 firms with chief execs who are non-UK nationals has doubled since 2001, according to research by recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson.
By the end of 2016 four in 10 FTSE 100 CEOs were non-UK nationals, a 31 per cent increase since 2006.
The rise in non-UK national business leaders is partly down to a five-fold increase in FTSE 100 companies based outside of the UK since 2001 – rising to 15 per cent of the FTSE 100.
Read more: The anatomy of a FTSE 100 chief executive
The FTSE 100 includes companies headquartered in a total of nine countries – more than double the number of countries represented in 2001 and ahead of non-national representation on other international exchanges. The top blue-chip bosses are drawn from 20 nationalities in 2016, against 11 in 2006.
“London has boomed post Big Bang and the millennium with increasing numbers of global businesses recognising its strength as a global business centre and choosing to establish a base here,” said Kester Scrope, chief executive of Odgers Berndtson.
“The key question is how impending trade negotiations and deals with the US, EU, Asia and rest of the world will impact this trend in the future.”