William Pasmore, a renowned expert on organizational leadership, worked closely with top executives from many Fortune 500 companies. In an article on the Center for Creative Leadership blog, he specified the areas in which a candidate needs to be strong.
If you're not, you'll have an idea on what kind of personal and professional development you need.
Proven responsibility, international exposure and flexibility
It's often required that a candidate for C-suite role has already been responsible for profit and loss of a rather large business unit.
Also, as international issues are increasingly common, people who appoint CEOs and other top leaders very often want the candidate to have had some experience in a global role, or that they have at least had some experience outside the local market.
Hand-on experience from finance and operations
Another highly important asset is professional flexibility. Experience in multiple functions will be a strong point for the candidate. Functional experience from finance and operations are usually considered to be the most valuable.
Of course, experience from positions in technology or research and development can be also very useful if you aim high.
-jk-