NEDonBoard had the pleasure of attending the 2019 NED Awards ceremony. It recognised the work and contribution of non-executive directors, chairs and senior independent directors across 7 categories: Not–for–Profit/Public Service Organisation, Private/Private Equity Backed, FTSE AIM, FTSE All Share, FTSE 100, Dame Helen Alexander ‘NED to Watch’ and Lifetime Achievement Award. In this blog post, we share some of the evening’s highlights.
- A room representing UK boards. The NED Awards ceremony was very well attended with hundreds of non-executive directors and boardroom experts meeting and networking. The room was a good representation of UK boards:
- A visible proportion of women, very much in line with their representation on boards: 30% of FTSE 100 boards and 25% of FTSE 250 boards as per the Hampton-Alexander Review 2018.
- The small presence of ethnic minorities, who remain underrepresented on UK boards.
- The under-representation of the young generation. The average age of NEDs on FTSE 100 boards is 63. NEDonBoard believes that there is a need for a transfer of knowledge at board level with NEDs accessing the boardroom at a younger age under the mentorship of experienced NEDs, chairs and SIDs whose knowledge and experience are invaluable.
- There has been progress to increase diversity in the boardroom: all NED to Watch nominees were women. But there remains significant room for improvement: 100% of the FTSE 100 NED Award nominees were men.
Succession planning is an area of focus of the revised UK Corporate Governance Code. NEDonBoard promotes the appointment of NEDs and senior executives based on objective criteria to avoid group thinking and promote diversity of gender, background, experiences, backgrounds, cognitive and personal strengths. The NEDonBoard succession planning board best practice publication is available on request to NEDonBoard members.
- An inspiring talk by Sir Roger Carr, who received the Lifetime Achievement NED Award. NEDonBoard members can access a summary of his 5 NED rules here. Sir Roger Martyn Carr is a British businessman and the chair of BAE Systems.
- A Dame Helen Alexander ‘NED to Watch’ awarded to Dianne Walker, who is a supporter of NEDonBoard’s mission.
On behalf of NEDonBoard, Elise Perraud
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