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What We Do

Board Advisory

Shareholders and society as a whole now expect much more from boards of directors, as part of increased scrutiny of our institutions. In addition, there is a growing demand from senior executives for their boards to provide judgment and wisdom on how to “do things better,” taking advantage of global and technological opportunities while avoiding traps and ensuring growth and sustainability.

At Egon Zehnder, we welcome this higher level of scrutiny and stand ready to work with you as partners in building the best boards of directors possible. Through more than 3,600 international board-consulting assignments in the past five years, we have accumulated insight on a broad range of topics that boards will encounter. Our experience goes well beyond executive search to build on nearly 50 years of learning how board directors can have the greatest impact, both individually and collectively.

We take particular pride in our deep experience helping boards of directors source and develop leadership talent, both on the board and in CEO succession projects. With 63 global offices in 36 countries, we are able to identify, assess, and develop director candidates all over the world. The collective expertise of our consultants — all of whom had significant careers in business before coming to our firm — allows us to better understand and anticipate your talent requirements in this area. Our wide reach also enables us to be creative when it comes to talent solutions; you can expect to meet candidates who don’t show up in traditional databases and who bring diversity of all kinds.

Our board work has three main components. With each of them, we leverage our unique global reach and equal partnership compensation model to make sure that everything we do has a singular focus: bringing better leadership to the boardroom. We invite you to experience true partnership as you build a more effective board.



Board Advisory Consultants

Ashley Summerfield

Ashley Summerfield

London

Global Lead

Ashley Summerfield leads Egon Zehnder’s global CEO and Board Consulting Practice. He is a trusted advisor to scores of prestigious clients around the… Read more

Lisa Blais

Lisa Blais

Boston

US Lead

Lisa Blais serves on Egon Zehnder’s Board of Directors and leads the firm’s US Board Practice. She also recently served as Managing Partner of the… Read more

Olli Laurén

Olli Laurén

Washington, D.C. Office Leader

Olli Laurén serves as Managing Partner in Washington D.C. He also leads Egon Zehnder’s Global Machinery & Industrial Technology practice. Read more

Kal Bittianda

Kal Bittianda

New York

Based in New York and the Leader of Egon Zehnder’s Technology & Communications Americas Practice, Kal Bittianda is passionate about disruptive… Read more

Alyse Forcellina

Alyse Forcellina

New York

Alyse Forcellina is an experienced partner who has led Egon Zehnder’s US Health and Leadership Advisory Practices, and is also active in the firm’s… Read more

Anne-Claire Monod

Anne-Claire Monod

New York

Anne-Claire Monod is a sought-out advisor to industrial businesses who has developed trusted relationships with Fortune 500 corporations as well as… Read more

Charles Gray

Charles Gray

New York

Charles “Chuck” Gray, based in New York, leads Egon Zehnder’s Technology Officers Practice in North America and is an active member of the Private… Read more

Alan Hilliker

Alan Hilliker

New York

Alan Hilliker, based in New York, is a member of Egon Zehnder’s U.S. Board Consulting and CEO practices. Read more

Steve Selwood

Steve Selwood

New York

Stephen Selwood, based in New York, is a core member of Egon Zehnder’s Consumer and Financial Services Practices. He is a trusted advisor to large… Read more

Dick Patton

Dick Patton

Boston

Dick Patton partners with clients on CEO succession, advisory, and search, in addition to providing board consulting and search, talent assessment… Read more

James Satterthwaite

James Satterthwaite

Boston

Jamie Satterthwaite, based in Boston, leads the Firm’s North America Software practice. Read more

Ian Bolin

Ian Bolin

Atlanta, Detroit

Ian Bolin, based in Atlanta and Detroit, leads Egon Zehnder’s Global Automotive and Mobility Practice. Read more

Jeff Otto

Jeff Otto

Atlanta, Palo Alto

Jeff Otto is the leader of Egon Zehnder’s Engineering and Research & Development Officers Practice. He also leads the North America Semiconductor… Read more

James Stark

James Stark

Atlanta

James Stark, based in Atlanta, is active in Egon Zehnder’s Financial Officers, Industrial, and Board Consulting practices. He is passionate about… Read more

Karl Alleman

Karl Alleman

Chicago

Karl Alleman has a long track record of helping large multinationals, family-owned enterprises, and private equity firms solve their most important… Read more

Simmi Singh

Simmi Singh

Chicago, Washington, D.C.

Simmi Singh is based in Egon Zehnder’s Chicago office, and in her decade with the Firm, has played a founding and leadership role in the Firm’s… Read more


Thought Leadership | Board Advisory

Read more insights
The Path to the Boardroom

The Path to the Boardroom

A practical guide to landing your first corporate board seat. Interviewing for First-Time Board Service: read successful strategies for meeting the unique challenges of… Read more

2022/23 Global Board Diversity Tracker: Who's Really on Board?

2022/23 Global Board Diversity Tracker: Who's Really on Board?

For over 18 years, Egon Zehnder has been tracking boardroom diversity around the world. The 2022–2023 Global Board Diversity Tracker captures the progress that… Read more

Are You Building a Cabinet or Building a Board?

Are You Building a Cabinet or Building a Board?

President Lincoln appointed three of his rivals to his cabinet. To outsiders, this seemed like a dangerous move, and that’s a profile in courageous… Read more

Breaking the Boardroom Glass Ceiling

Breaking the Boardroom Glass Ceiling

At the board level there have been steady improvements in DE&I, 1 in 3 new hires being women and 27 percent of board seats… Read more

Will Board Diversity Improve Firm Value?

Will Board Diversity Improve Firm Value?

In our work with boards around the world, we believe diverse boards lead to deeper discussions, more perspectives and better decision-making. In this article,… Read more

Bringing Action to Numbers: Turning Diverse Boards Into Inclusive Ones

Bringing Action to Numbers: Turning Diverse Boards Into Inclusive Ones

Since the turbulent summer of 2020, significant strides have been made across the world to diversify boards. The next level of the work is… Read more

Enhancing Director Effectiveness

Enhancing Director Effectiveness

Check-out the key insights from our nine-month Directors Development Program, a collaboration with Harvard Business Publishing to enhance boardroom effectiveness. Read more

Visibility, Opportunity and Access

Visibility, Opportunity and Access

Boards are making progress in representational diversity—slowly. However, most boards in the UK and around the world are still overwhelmingly white. To discuss this… Read more

Visibility, Opportunity and Access

Visibility, Opportunity and Access

We partnered with the Executive Leadership Council to gather more than 40 board-ready executives who shared their thoughts on increasing visibility, getting noticed, appointed,… Read more

Transitioning from Board Member to Board Leader

Transitioning from Board Member to Board Leader

25 early service corporate directors and four experienced board leaders talk about how to move from board member to board leader. Read more

Egon Zehnder’s Latest Global Board Diversity Tracker Shows Heightened Need for Inclusivity on Corporate Boards as They Diversify

Egon Zehnder’s Latest Global Board Diversity Tracker Shows Heightened Need for Inclusivity on Corporate Boards as They Diversify

Egon Zehnder released its 2022-2023 Global Board Diversity Tracker, revealing corporate boards have made some progress on diversity, but inclusivity needs improvement. Read more

New study from Egon Zehnder Finds Boards Need Four Key Ingredients to Become Stewards of Sustainability

New study from Egon Zehnder Finds Boards Need Four Key Ingredients to Become Stewards of Sustainability

A report released by Egon Zehnder has found that while boards are prioritizing sustainability, there is room for improvement for driving ESG agendas. Read more

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