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<p>No. Obviously it helps. But the fact is, most people who get into the top B-schools will not have actual management experience. For example, the majority of people entering the top B-schools will be investment banking or consulting analysts, and they, by definition, will have no true management experience (in the sense that nobody reports to them). </p>
<p>What really matters is management * potential *. This can be evidenced by actual management experience, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be so. Furthermore, not all management experience is created equal. For example, having strong analyst experience in a top consulting or banking firm, but no actual management experience, is certainly more valuable than having been a manager at a low-level job, i.e. being crew-chief at McDonalds. That’s obviously an extreme example, but I think you get my point. Strong management potential is more valuable than low-level management experience.</p>