Among the share-worthy takeaways from Spencer Stuart’s newly released iconic annual S&P 500 Board Index are these:
New independent directors:
- Demographics - 432 new independent directors were added over the past year to the 492 boards included in the 2019 index. Of those new directors, 59% are diverse (women and minority men); 46% are women; 27% are first-time directors; and 16% are “next-gen” (50 and younger)
- Women – Women represent 26% of all directors on these boards. Notably, 85 boards increased their size over the past year to add a female director (on a net basis after independent director departures).
- Industry backgrounds – Tech/telecommunications backgrounds were the most sought-after experience for new independent directors over the past year at 17% of the total, followed closely by consumer goods & services backgrounds at 16%.
Board refreshment practices:
- 71% of boards have a mandatory retirement age.
- 78% of independent directors who left their boards over the past year served on boards with mandatory retirement ages.
Board evaluation practices: Among boards reporting some form of evaluation, 42% reported evaluating the full board, board committees, and individual directors - compared to just 17% in 2009. Conversely, the percent of boards reporting a board-only evaluation has declined from 28% in 2009 to just 7% in 2019.
See this Davis Polk memo; "Companies Tie Pay, Performance Ratings to Gender Recruiting Targets" from the WSJ; our recent report: “What's on the Nom/Gov Committee Agenda?” and additional information & resources on our Board Practices/Governance Practices page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!