Research on European business elites has been dominated by a "national career model" approach, arguing that each country has a specific top management career pattern. In recent years, this line of argument has been challenged due to the increasing international circulation of top managers. To examine the impact of internationalization on career models we will draw on a database of 916 top managers in Germany, Switzerland, France and Britain. Our field-analytical analysis reveals that the most important career distinction - between internal and external careers - is valid beyond national models. In addition, international managers do not constitute a separate homogenous group: in some countries they imitate national career patterns, in others they pursue complementary strategies.