The Influence of Inherent and Acquired CEO's Personal Traits on the Company's Capital Structure

This study is devoted to identifying the influence of the CEO's personal traits on the company's capital structure, taking into account the division of characteristics into two types: inherent and acquired. The sample under study consists of 50 Russian companies whose shares are included in the MOEX Broad Market Index for the period from 2009 to 2017. As a result of evaluating the quadratic model, it was found that the following characteristics have a positive effect on the company's capital structure: innate characteristics - city of birth and age of the CEO (if he is over 40 years old); acquired characteristics - experience in public service. It was also found that the financial leverage is on average less in the following cases: the CEO has an MBA, mathematics education, and also if the tenure is more than 7 years (acquired characteristics). The division of characteristics into two types separates genetically determined and accumulated characteristics from each other, so companies, when searching for a CEO in case of disputable situations (a similar set of acquired characteristics in candidates), can make decisions based on innate ones. It should be borne in mind that innate personal characteristics cannot be influenced in any way, that is, if the company is trying to attract less borrowed funds, it should focus on a young CEO who was not born in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Also, studying the resume of potential managers, companies should pay attention to the acquired characteristics, since they constitute a large set of characteristics and are a variable value, which, if necessary, can be supplemented by passing refresher courses, etc.