Spencer Stuart's recent survey of 113 Nom/Gov Committee members revealed these noteworthy results:
- Average number of directors expected to retire/join S&P 500 boards in each of the next three years is one director
- 43% of committee members thought that their board had one or more underperforming directors in the past three years, and more than half addressed the underperformance by asking them to leave the board.
- The biggest drivers of board refreshment will be replacing retiring directors (41%) and adding new skills to the board (41%).
- Highest-priority director recruiting profiles now, and in the next three years, are: (i) female directors, (ii) technology experience, and (iii) active CEO/COO, although digital/social media experience is on par with active CEO/COO experience when looking forward (next three years).
- 2/3 of committee members said that their board considered ESG issues in the past year, but they don't expect ESG to be a top priority in the next three years:
Note that based on the March 2019 Society/Deloitte "Board Practices Report" (posted on our Board/Governance Practices page), the vast majority of boards were looking to increase their diversity and - of those - most were seeking gender diversity. Specific industry experience topped the list of professional experience recruitment priorities.
See last year's Spencer Stuart survey and this prior report: "Nom/Gov Committee Responsibilities, Considerations & Templates," and additional Nom/Gov information & resources on our Nominating/Governance Committees page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!