Harvard Business Review Blog Network – Boards Need to Go Global

Companies need boards that are as global as their business in order to sidestep risks and seize opportunities, writes George L. Davis, Co-Leader of Egon Zehnder’s Global Board Practice, in a blog contribution for the Harvard Business Review. According to the results of Egon Zehnder’s recently published 2014 Global Board Index, however, most boards are not as international as they should be. As Egon Zehnder’s just-released 2014 Global Board Index found, 37% of the revenue generated by companies in the S&P 500 now comes from international sources, and at the 100 most globalized companies — those that derive more than half of their revenue from non-U.S. sources — only one of ten directors is a foreign national, and only two of ten have meaningful international work experience. While there is no single solution to board diversity, Davis urges companies to carefully consider “the global capability of their directors and how it dovetails with the footprint of their business – both now and in the future.”

Full story: George L. Davis: Boards Aren’t as Global as Their Businesses in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network (28 October 2014)