Shining the spotlight on director search

THE board of directors is the apex body of an organisation. It provides entrepreneurial leadership and sets strategic objectives to ensure the long term success of the organisation. If an organisation is a boat, then the board is the rudder. As such, putting together an effective board is of utmost importance. The selection of new board members will often impact the future of the company more than any other board decision, with the possible exception of the selection of senior management.

Currently, companies expend a lot of effort and resources in the search for the right chief executive officer and senior executives. Executive search firms are hired, and sometimes, a global search is conducted.

Far less attention, however, is given to the recruitment of board members. Even today, despite the topic having taken up hundreds of column inches in newspapers and numerous hours of discussions in conferences, many companies still rely solely on the old boys' network to rope in directors.