在美国一些最有影响力的首席执行官中，有的高中毕业后并没有没上大学，有的上了大学但中途退了学。
而这些“大学辍学生”有个共同点：年纪轻轻就投入工作，而且一直在拼命努力。
Some of America’s most powerful CEO’s never even made it through the doors of an academic institution after high-school, and others who did, dropped out midway.
The one thing these “college dropouts” all have in common is that they started work young and haven’t stopped since.
1.托德·琼斯，Publix
54岁的托德·琼斯并没有正式的大学学位，但他是“Publix大学”合格的毕业生。40年里他在连锁超市Publix逐步晋升，2016年1月出任首席执行官。跻身高层以前，店员出身的琼斯几乎从事过公司内各类工作，对Publix的了解无出其右。
Todd Jones, 54, might not have an official college degree but he’s a full-fledged graduate of the “University of Publix ”. He spent four decades climbing the ranks of the supermarket chain before becoming CEO in January 2016. By this point, the former store clerk had tried his hand at almost every side of the business and now knows it better than anyone else.
2.理查德.A.冈萨雷斯，AbbVie公司
Courtesy of AbbVie
虽然从未大学毕业（此前在公司简历中声称自己大学毕业），61岁的理查德·冈萨雷斯却成功地管理着AbbVie的2.8万名员工，公司年营业收入达到230亿美元。和传统意义上的大学退学生不同，他离开校园是为了从事制药业，而且一做就是30年。冈萨雷斯管理过两家跨国公司，如今退休后再度出山，安度晚年不适合他。
Despite never graduating from college (and previously claiming that he did in his company bio), Richard Gonzalez, 61, has managed to keep a handle on AbbVie ’s 28,000 employees and $23 billion annual revenue. Not your typical college dropout, Gonzalez quit school to make a start on his 30-year career in pharmaceuticals. He has run two global companies and already returned from retirement once; the quiet life just wasn’t for him.
3.约翰.P.麦基，全食食品公司
3.John P. Mackey, Whole Foods Market
这位号称清醒的资本家在大学里修了100多学分，但从未毕业。当年他一门心思扑在和女友蕾妮·罗森·哈迪共同建立的有机食品连锁店上，所以没时间拿学位。麦基的直觉和坚持得到了回报，他的公司现在是美国最大的有机食品超市，名为全食食品。而62岁的麦基依然仿佛过着“爱我所爱”的学生生活，拿着一美元的象征性年薪。
The so-called conscious capitalist clocked over 100 credits of college classes but never graduated. He was too preoccupied with an organic food store that he set up with then-girlfriend Renee Lawson Hardy to finish a degree. Perseverance and intuition paid off as it’s now the largest organic supermarket chain in the U.S. and goes by the name of Whole Foods. But Mackey, 62, still lives up to his “free love” student years and only pays himself an annual salary of $1.
4.谢尔登·阿德尔森，拉斯维加斯金沙集团
4.Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands
82岁的美国商界大亨谢尔登·阿德尔森既没有时间也没有必要完成大学学位。他的职业生涯始于12岁在波士顿卖报纸，从此一直忙忙碌碌。他锐意进取又勇于实践，成立创立过多家公司，包括不断扩张的赌场帝国拉斯维加斯金沙集团，如今触手已伸到美国沙漠之外，业务遍及亚洲。近年来，阿德尔森因为慷慨资助共和党候选人而家喻户晓。
U.S. business magnate Sheldon Adelson, 82, hasn’t had the time or the necessity to complete a college degree. He kicked off his career at the tender age of 12 selling newspapers in Boston and has been hustling ever since. His willingness to experiment led him to set up a string of successful companies, including Las Vegas Sands ??-0.09%?, a sprawling casino empire, which stretches beyond the U.S. desert and across Asia. In recent years, Adelson has become a household name for his abundant funding of Republican candidates and causes.
5.罗伯特.W.皮特曼，iHeartMedia
5.Robert W. Pittman, iHeartMedia
人称“鲍勃”的皮特曼现年62岁，是当代美国电视产业的先驱。他参与创立并经营MTV音乐电视网，而后出任美国在线的首席运营官。在他任内，美国在线与时代华纳进行了合并。虽然该交易被普遍认为是史上最失败并购之一，但并未影响到皮特曼。现在他执掌的iHeartMedia是美国最大的广播公司。皮特曼没有大学学位，他的成功主要因为决心坚定，工作勤奋，这也是皮特曼从15岁就开始养成的习惯。那年他在密西西比州一家广播电台找了份工作，事业由此起步。
“Bob” Pittman, 62, is a pioneer of modern American television. He was part of the team that created MTV and went on to run the network. Pittman was later chief operating officer of AOL during the company’s tie-up with Time Warner ??2.11%?, widely considered one of the worst mergers of all time. Nonetheless, he managed to come out the other side unscathed, and now runs iHeartMedia, the largest broadcaster in the U.S. He doesn’t have a college degree to thank for his success but determination and hard work, which goes right back to the 15-year-old boy who started out in a radio studio in Mississippi.
6.约翰.P.塔格，Hertz Global Holdings
6.John P. Tague, Hertz Global Holdings
54岁的约翰·塔格的生平所学全都来自工作实践。他一路奋斗最终坐上美国联合航空的最高领导者宝座。21世纪初他着力改善销售，带领公司逐渐走出低谷。2015年末，他临危受命掌管Hertz Global Holdings的汽车租赁业务，公司上下寄望他能像在美联航一样带领大伙重振业务。塔格成功的关键是，管理任何行业都游刃有余。他说自己学过最重要的东西不是在大学里，而是在厨房餐桌旁父亲告诉他的人生道理。
John Tague, 54, learned everything on the job. He worked his way up to the top at United Airlines and pulled the company out of dark times by boosting sales in the early 2000’s. He was called into Hertz ??-0.07%? in late 2015 to run the company’s car rental business and their hoping he’ll do just the same. His ability to master any trade is the key to his success. Something he learned from his father at the kitchen table, not in college, he says.
7.拉里.D.杨，Dr. Pepper公司
7.Larry D. Young, Dr. Pepper
61岁的拉里·杨毕生从事软饮料行业，不过在担任首席执行官以前一直很低调。他的第一份工作是在百事可乐公司开卡车，40年后掌管50多个饮料品牌。杨表示一切经验皆来自实践，而非学校课堂。 (财富中文网)
译者: Pessy
审校：夏林
