Insights
BlueSteps Board Director Career Report - June 2014
This report highlights numerous changes in the business environment that have not only impacted the board of directors, but have also made it more difficult for search committees to build a board with the right skills. Now, more than ever, board directors are concerned with the impact of external economic factors and regulatory compliance on their organization, as those factors ranked second and third respectively behind shareholder interests as board directors’ top business concerns.
The 2014 BlueSteps Board Director Career survey was conducted in May 2014 and received 107 responses from board directors across the world. The purpose of this survey was to discover the issues faced by board directors to help current and aspiring board candidates successfully manage their careers.
The survey results highlight numerous changes in the business environment that have not only impacted the board of directors, but have also made it more difficult for search committees to build a board with the right skills. Now, more than ever, board directors are concerned with the impact of external economic factors and regulatory compliance on their organization, as those factors ranked second and third respectively, behind shareholder interests as board directors’ top business concerns.
In order to navigate these, and other fast-paced changes, there is an increasing demand for board director candidates with sector-specific and function-specific expertise, especially in the areas of technology and financial services. It appears that this demand has not yet reached maximum capacity and will grow as boards continue to fill newly vacant board seats. At this time, traditional general management and financial skills, brought to the table by CEOs and CFOs, are still in highest demand, followed by the CTO/CIO, Head of Business Development/ Sales and the CMO.
Peter Felix, AESC & BlueSteps President, commented: “Boards can no longer rely on the old boys network or “friends of the chair” to fill what have become critically important positions. As the role of the board director comes under increasing scrutiny and the prudential burdens upon directors grow, it is incumbent upon chairs of boards and chairs of the nominating committees to be fully knowledgeable about the competencies, behaviors and motivations of their board members. The board must reflect the challenges of the environment and the skills required to address them.”
In the case of mobility and tenure, the majority of board directors expect to stay in their current board position for two to five years (63%) and will remain highly mobile as most (41.1%) are concerned with finding new opportunities. For one third of this survey’s board director respondents, it took less than three months to find their most recent board position.