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Does a board have to have CEO experience? Probably not mandatory. Across Europe, only 38 percent of VR positions were filled with candidates with a CEO background last year, up from 44 percent in 2021.
This is one of the findings of recruiter Heidrick & Struggles’ Board Monitor 2022. In Switzerland, only 30 percent of the 50 newly appointed board members have CEO experience – up from more than 60 percent in the previous year. On the other hand, we are looking for candidates with deep financial knowledge. CFOs occupy 24 percent of new positions.
Fewer and fewer Swiss board members
It also seems to be getting harder and harder to find suitable board members holding a Swiss passport. Nowhere else in Europe was the proportion of foreigners among newly filled VR positions as high as in Switzerland. Last year, as in 2021, 70 percent of the new board members were recruited from outside Switzerland. This is an unusual amount. Overall, 56 percent of new seats in Europe went to domestic managers. The majority come from other European countries, such as the Spanish Ana de Pro Gonzalo at Novartis, the Italian Luca Maestri at Nestlé, or the Dane Tom Knutzen at Givaudan. Less frequently, new board members came from the USA or Canada, Asia or the Middle East. Canadian Leanne Geale (Holcim), Malaysian Chris Leong (Nestlé) and Singapore’s Julie Tay (Sonova) are quite the exceptions.
However, Swiss boards are not only becoming more international, they are also getting younger. The average age of 50 newly appointed board members last year was 57. In 2021, the average age was still 59.
This trend can be seen all over Europe. In the 14 countries surveyed by Heidrick & Struggles experts, nearly a quarter of new seats were filled by candidates under the age of 50. The youngest member of the Board of Directors was appointed to the board of directors in France at the age of 32, and the oldest in the Netherlands at the age of 81.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
