Board Consulting

With mounting pressure for a better gender balance on boards and senior executive teams, the number of women directors in many European countries is increasing steadily, but slowly. These are the results of recent research into female directors at a total of 340 companies across 17 European countries conducted by Egon Zehnder International.

In an October 2009 release, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission effectively removed the ordinary business exclusion defense used by companies reluctant to disclose their CEO succession process to shareholders. The policy change allows for a new wave of corporate governance scrutiny, as regulators and shareholders increasingly focus on CEO succession practices. Companies and boards would do well to prepare, write Justus O'Brien, a consultant at Egon Zehnder International, New York, and shareholder relations expert Edward Ferris in an article published in The Conference Board.