Shields Meneley Logo

  • Home
  • About Us
    • The Team
    • Advisory Board
    • Testimonials
  • Organizations
    • Executive Transition
      • Executive Transition Process
      • Exiting a Seasoned Executive
      • Benefit to Organizations
      • Life Planning Package
    • Executive Coaching and Development
      • Improving Individual Performance
      • Improving Team Performance
      • On Boarding
      • Succession Planning
    • Executive Assessment
      • Recruiting and Succession
      • Managing CEO Succession
      • Private Equity Recruiting
  • Individuals
    • Exiting Now
      • Our Process
      • Looking For A New Role
      • Changing Careers
    • Confidential Transition
      • Our Confidential Process
      • Exploring Options
    • Next Chapter
      • Living A Portfolio Life
      • Becoming an Entrepreneur
      • Life Planning
      • Board Development
  • In The Media
  • Contact Us
  • Client Intranet
  • Executive Review
Contact Us

Get in touch with us if you have any queries and we will get back to you as soon as possible.




    HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US?

    Shields Meneley Partners
    • Home
    • About Us
      • The Team
      • Advisory Board
      • Testimonials
    • Organizations
      • Executive Transition
        • Executive Transition Process
        • Exiting a Seasoned Executive
        • Benefit to Organizations
        • Life Planning Package
      • Executive Coaching and Development
        • Improving Individual Performance
        • Improving Team Performance
        • On Boarding
        • Succession Planning
      • Executive Assessment
        • Recruiting and Succession
        • Managing CEO Succession
        • Private Equity Recruiting
    • Individuals
      • Exiting Now
        • Our Process
        • Looking For A New Role
        • Changing Careers
      • Confidential Transition
        • Our Confidential Process
        • Exploring Options
      • Next Chapter
        • Living A Portfolio Life
        • Becoming an Entrepreneur
        • Life Planning
        • Board Development
    • In The Media
    • Contact Us
    • Client Intranet
    • Executive Review

    Dow Jones

    • Home
    • >

    Archives

    • February 2022
    • August 2021
    • May 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • January 2017
    • November 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • June 2012
    • April 2012
    • August 2010
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009

    Meta

    • Log in
    linkedin_post
    23 Jan

    Can Comp and Conferences Help Board Recruiting?

    By admin In Boards, Career, Leadership, Networking /   No Comments

    As boards compete to recruit highly sought-after diverse directors with a particular set of skills – such as technology and cyber-security expertise, for example – consultants are prompting boards to revisit some aspects of their compensation plans and to consider educational opportunities that could help their boards stand out to desirable candidates.

    Generally, board compensation and attendance at global conferences aren’t the primary drivers that compel executives with data analytics or cyber-security experience to join boards, consultants say. However, on the margins, boards can optimize their recruiting efforts by making sure comp plans take into account the interests of younger, active executives and that onboarding and educational opportunities allow curious and intelligent but less seasoned board members to get a feel for an entirely different business or industry than the one they’re in.

    “There is an element of board shopping that goes on,” says Hugh Shields, an executive coach who also works with board members at consulting firm Shields Meneley Partners.

    Active executives, particularly those whose skill sets are highly coveted by boards, know they have “one shot” at an outside board seat, Shields says, so they try to find the best position they can. Executives will announce to colleagues and advisors that they’re interested in joining boards, visit the board practices divisions of search firms to get to know recruiters, and conduct their own networking to let board members know they’re looking for a seat, he says.

    “There’s much more competition,” says Shields.

    And while many aspiring directors are working hard to make themselves known to boards, it appears that many companies are creating similar wish lists for new board members, putting a premium on certain skill sets.

    Among the 462 new directors who joined Fortune 500 boards in the past year, 55% were active executives and 42% had digital and social media or cyber-security expertise, according to a Heidrick & Struggles report.

    A survey of 113 nominating and governance committee members conducted by Spencer Stuart found that the most high-priority recruiting profiles currently include women board candidates with technology experience. In three years, the profiles will also include minority candidates with digital and social media expertise, the survey found. Those skills will surpass financial and operational expertise, according to the results.

    Therefore, many boards may be attempting to lure a lot of the same executives in the coming years, and the quest for board talent will grow increasingly heated. For some boards that have had recruiting challenges, directors may want to consider modifying their approaches.

    Don Delves, managing director in executive compensation and practice leader for North America at Willis Towers Watson, points out that he sees a generational shift taking place as boards are recruiting more diverse directors. New board members, whom he calls “the human capital generation,” are more interested in workforces and question how people are valued by companies and the way organizations create shareholder and societal value. They also want to clearly understand what might be fascinating about a company and could interest them, he adds.

    “They don’t hesitate to ask about the whole employee population and the whole pipeline of people moving through the company,” says Delves. Directors are asking, “Do you have the right people in the right places doing the right job?” he says. “That’s clearly a change that’s happening.”

    Another Look at Equity

    Directors aren’t primarily motivated by their compensation, and boards would be ill-advised to recruit a new member who was interested in a board seat simply for the money, says Dan Laddin, a founding partner at Compensation Advisory Partners (CAP). Most new directors are motivated to join a board if they believe they have the ability to contribute to the company they would be overseeing, and whether the work would be interesting to them.

    Beyond those two screens, however, potential director candidates do want to understand how they will be compensated for their time, Laddin says. He notes that some of the active executives will be at different life stages than more traditional board members, with younger family situations, mortgages, school loans or children in college. Given that boards are attracting directors from a much broader pool of talent these days, board compensation becomes more meaningful than if the board were recruiting a former CEO, says Laddin. As boards diversify, they’re looking for a diversity of backgrounds in terms of career, which might also mean differences in wealth.

    “The market for talent is highly competitive and companies can choose to compete or fall behind,” says Matt Vnuk, a principal at CAP. “One way to effectively compete for talent is through differentiation in compensation.”

    A new director compensation report from CAP suggests that boards may want to revisit provisions allowing for initial equity awards to new directors. Initial equity awards have trended downward in recent years, but they could appeal to directors who are considering multiple invitations to join boards.

    Among the 100 largest companies, 13 currently provide initial equity awards with a median value of $175,000, according to data from CAP. Vesting varies by company, CAP finds, with immediate or one-year vesting the most common schedule. An equity award upon election or appointment to the board can differentiate a director pay program in a way that ramps up new directors’ alignment with shareholders, Vnuk says.

    “An initial award can make a lot of sense in attracting a candidate to your company versus another company,” Laddin says.

    In addition, stock ownership guidelines, which have tended to grow more stringent as boards have adopted hold-until-retirement or hold-until-after-retirement requirements, could also be revisited, CAP suggests in its report. Directors could be required to hold stock until their holdings are equivalent to a five-times multiple of the annual cash retainer, for instance, rather than holding stock until they leave the board.

    If a director joins a board and is paid half in cash and half in equity and is required to hold the equity until they leave the board, that means they’re only earning roughly 25% of their total compensation because they’ll be required to pay taxes on the cash compensation, points out Laddin. Having access to the other portion of their board compensation could be valuable to an actively employed board member who is at an earlier stage of their life and career, he says.

    “If you can use compensation in a way to differentiate yourself in the recruiting process in away that remains very responsible, that’s certainly a plus,” says Vnuk.

    Director Education

    In addition, other issues to consider include onboarding and director education opportunities, says Delves. Once pay is competitive, it may not make a difference to some executives, he notes.

    However, if a board can emphasize the importance of the job and provide opportunities to take in-depth corporate governance courses at top universities, a membership with the National Association of Corporate Directors or a subscription to board-director-focused publications, for example, an active executive could be interested in the opportunity to dive headfirst into learning about corporate governance.

    In addition, Delves says that director orientation programs should be organized to allow executives the chance to visit company headquarters and offsite plants and locations and talk with executives and learn everything they can to immerse themselves in the company they’ll be overseeing.

    In addition, boards benefit when directors bring broader perspectives into the boardroom, he says. Attending conferences or traveling to the Aspen Institute or the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, helps board members stay on the cutting edge while also bringing ideas back to the boardroom. Depending on the amount of time a director has and the board budget for education, one conference or event per new director could provide an interesting education component to board membership.

    “Some of them are already making a lot of money,” says Delves. “What can you do to make it interesting and a whole fascinating adventure for them to take on that’s different from their daily lives?”

    Originally Posted: https://www.agendaweek.com/c/2535213/302043/comp_conferences_help_board_recruiting?referrer_module=issueHeadline

    Read More
    hugh shields
    20 Dec

    Private Equity Paves Road to Succession

    By admin In Career Transition, Leadership, Private Equity /   No Comments

    Well established private-equity firms are taking steps to put in place the next generation of leaders

    Succession planning in private equity continues to be an important topic for the well-established firms in the asset class. For a global perspective, Dow Jones’ private equity editor Laura Kreutzer interviewed Hugh Shields, co-founder and principal from Shields Meneley Partners. Hugh provided Laura with key insights into what is typically a secretive process of how large private equity firms choose new leadership and what firms today need to do to ensure a smooth transition.

    Hugh’s interview was included in a terrific article in Dow Jones’ publication Financial News and can be found here.

    For PDF click here: PE News – Private Equity Paves Road to Succession

    Read More

    Posts navigation

    Our Advisors are your peers. All have held top executive roles with significant operational and P&L responsibility.

    Like you, they know the challenges, opportunities, and rewards unique to serving in the C-suite or the Boardroom. Our administrative support staff have considerable experience to help our clients during their career transition, coaching experience or assessment process.

    Quick Links

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Organizations
    • Our Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy

    Services

    • Organizations
      • Executive Transition
      • Executive Coaching and Development
      • Executive Assessment
    • Individuals
      • Exiting Now
      • Confidential Transition
      • Next Chapter

    Latest Post

    • linkedin_post
      It is Never Too Early to Get a Coach February 11, 2022
    • linkedin_post
      Gratitude Has No Statute of Limitations August 11, 2021
    • linkedin_post
      Company Identity May 14, 2021
    • 3 Steps to Build a More Inclusive Team While Working Remotely March 11, 2021
    • corporate-board-member
      Corporate Board Member Magazine Features Guest Article by Gail Meneley February 27, 2021
    © 2021 Shields Meneley Partners. All rights reserved.

    Are you sure you want to logout from Shields Meneley?

    Lost your password?

    X
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • LinkedIn
    • Whatsapp