Composition
Boards will be smaller and have more P&L leaders
Our study suggests that composition of boards is changing due to the increasing complexity of board work. To meet the new challenges that accompany these changes, it is essential that boards are set up accordingly.
Key Findings
- While our study indicates an average board size of 12 across all markets, our interviews with board practitioners suggest a much smaller board size of 8 to 9 members. Where possible, boards should review their size and prepare for a potential adjustment to 8 to 9 members, maximum, to enable effective collaboration, content-driven discussions, appropriate focus, and results-orientation. This set up will emphasize the quality of contributions while increasing the number of meetings each year.
- Committee work can be strengthened by increasing the number of committees and pulling in topic experts as advisors as needed. This will ensure proper delegation of relevant topics and appropriate coverage.
- An increase in compensation may be vital to attract global talent, diverse leaders, and experts who are scarce and in high demand. Having board directors who possess transformational P&L leadership experience and who can contribute to holistic strategic discussions is essential to enhancing future board performance.
The Boardroom Landscape
Averages from our Study Population: 100
Contributors
Digital Leads
Amadeu Porto, Joanna Scheffel
Design Team
Aditya Gupta, Arnab Kar, Kamaljit Marwaha, Dapinder Pal Singh Bahl, Ginlian Guite and Richard Khuptong
The authors would like to thank the Chair/Board members who participated in the survey, Egon Zehnder consultants for their internal/external insight and EZ colleagues who contributed to this study: Amit Kumar, Devyanee Kaushal, Johanna Prasch, Luis Fuhrer, Sonika Ganjoo and Svenja Weitzel.