Insight Articles | Board Directors & Chairs

Six things CTOs and CIOs can do to prepare for board service.

Since the turbulent summer of 2020, significant strides have been made across the world to diversify boards. The next level of the work is to move beyond counting numbers to reaping the business advantages of balanced representation.

Progress has been made on getting more underrepresented minorities onto corporate boards, but this same level of progress hasn’t translated to committee chair and board chair/lead director roles.

While tech has become the operating system of today’s companies, less attention has been paid to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO) who designs, guides, and implements these operating systems.

We believe diversifying board leadership is a critical next step for boards to ensure a pipeline of diverse representation at the board level.

Key insights from our nine-month Directors Development Program, a collaboration with Harvard Business Publishing to enhance boardroom effectiveness.

In June 2022, Egon Zehnder held the latest event in its Corporate Governance Exchange (CGX) series, which brings together chairs and Nomination & Remuneration Committee chairs to share insights and challenges for board members who want to increase their strategic impact. This CGX event focused on “ESG and the Role of the Board,” and featured Douglas Peterson, President and CEO of S&P Global, as a guest speaker.

In the past, boards treated board succession tactically, appointing the most eminent available candidate or someone who could meet an immediate need.

A discussion on the “what” of a high-performing board (i.e., understanding the role of the board and its agenda) and the “how” (i.e., the dynamics of the boardroom and how it should operate via personal interactions and styles).

A discussion exploring the changing landscape of corporate governance for board directors of India’s top public sector banks.