from Third Quarter 2010
Corporate Board Member
by Craig Mellow
Americans serving on foreign boards and foreigners who are directors of U.S. companies have different perspectives on the job and were probably recruited for different reasons, according to the Board Globalization Research Study conducted by Global Navigation, a Corporate Board Member sibling company, and executive search firm Egon Zehnder International. Nearly 56% of the Americans with foreign directorships cite logistics (notably travel) as a problem, while only 34% of foreigners on U.S. boards feel that way. Similarly, almost 69% of the Americans versus 44% of the foreigners think their business experience explains why they were invited to join the boards of companies in other countries.
Majorities of both groups, however, say they agreed to serve on these boards in the belief that they could make a unique contribution. That seems to be how it turned out. The newcomers’ performance as directors has mostly exceeded the expectations of their peers on the boards they joined.
The survey also identified various best practices that boards use to get maximum performance from their new members:
- 97% of the respondents say their boards help new directors fit in by sending them materials that familiarize them with company performance.
- 95% say new board members meet with key officers of the company.
- 70% of the boards that include foreign nationals hold non-executive sessions so they can discuss areas of concern without management present.
Perhaps surprisingly, director education for non-national board members is rare. Only 17% of the respondents joined boards that offer external training within the first six months of their signing on—and 57% wish it were otherwise.
Almost 70 non-national directors and 115 of their peers responded to the survey.
Related Articles:
It's Time to Recruit More Foreign Nationals as Directors
Mind Your Manners in China's Boardrooms
topic tags: board of directors, corporate governance, international, research