Image representing Richard Branson as depicted...

Richard Branson: A pilot who likes to fly jets and balloons and is into space flight, too. Image via CrunchBase

They like to take risks, but they like to take risks wisely, and that makes them effective corporate leaders, say Professors Matthew Cain of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and Stephen McKeon of the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business. The two conducted a study of 179 chief executives who were pilots and 2,900 who were not pilots, and they've just published their findings in a paper titled "Cleared for Takeoff? CEO Personal Risk-Taking and Corporate Policies."

Cain says:

CEO pilot-led firms are more likely to engage in mergers and acquisitions, have more debt in their capital structure – meaning higher leverage and greater overall stock return volatility. Thus, thrill-seeking CEOs bring a certain element of this personality trait into the executive suite, as reflected by more aggressive corporate policies.

He also says that "piloting small aircraft as a hobby is more risky than driving a motorcyle, flying a helicopter, or even crop-dusting. Thus, the research shows, these CEOs exhibit a clear willingness to engage in risky activities for the sake of pleasure." The professors state flatly that "the desire to fly is indicative of a genetic personality trait known as sensation seeking, which is associated with risk-taking behavior."

Despite all that, the research did not find that these CEOs' love of risk led them to destructive behavior. In fact, Cain says, "These CEOs tend to complete acquisitions that are more successful than those completed by non-sensation seeking CEOs. Their creativity and novelty seeking characteristics lead them into deals that improve the growth prospects of their firms."

So go out there and get your wings!

You can find the study here. Here is a video of Cain discussing it: