Murrell had an affinity for IT, and after he suggested, more than a decade ago, a more standard approach for some of Dow's IT operations, he was moved into IT management. Along the way, he also earned an MBA.

In grooming future management talent, Dow today is focused on developing a strategic workforce plan to understand, in part, what jobs it will need in-house. "We identify future leaders early in their career, and we direct their path so they get specific experiences," said Murrell.

Employees who are targeted for leadership roles exhibit a number of characteristics, said Murrell, including the ability to "blossom where you are planted." These are "people who are having a great deal of success in whatever we are asking them to do today," he said.

Having the ability to work with clients, figure out the technology, understand business requirements "and have a strong sense of vision" is also important, said Murrell.

Pamela Carreon, who manages offshore outsourcing and enterprise vendor services at Wells Fargo & Co. in San Francisco, said she needs to hire three people, and she wants good communicators, good listeners and problem-solvers -- skills that are difficult to assess outside of an interview. Finance and management experience are high on Carreon's skills list.