Do successful parents confer career advantage? Treasury lawyer is among next-generation achievers
At least 14 high achievers with successful parents hold top posts in business, law, executive search and government—and Jim Millstein is among them.
Millstein, a lawyer, was chief restructuring officer at the U.S. Treasury, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Millstein’s father is Ira Millstein, a senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
“I have had access to the best legal and career advice available,” the younger Millstein tells the newspaper. He left his Treasury job in 2011 and now owns a turnaround-advisory firm. Earlier in his career, Jim Millstein worked 18 years at a law firm and helped lead corporate restructuring at the investment bank Lazard.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “a growing number of today’s high achievers turn out to be progeny of high-achieving parents.” The newspaper surmises that “having a successful parent confers a distinct career advantage.”
Others who apparently benefited from having an executive parent are sisters Denise Morrison, chief executive of Campbell Soup Co., and Maggie Wilderotter, CEO of Frontier Communications Corp. Their father, former AT&T executive Dennis Sullivan, advised his daughters to “always have a plan.” He even required the children to write business plans before they could get 10-speed bicycles.
