Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
How to Accelerate Gender Diversity on Boards
Milken InstituteCelia Huber, Denise Morrison, Ronald O'Hanley, NV Tyagarajan, Rich Dottizio, Ron O'Hanley, SHARMINI PERIES, Kristen, Hope Tates, Amy Wilkinson, Nan Morris, Anna Chapman, Kelly Close, John Stackhouse
- Rich Dottizio expects to achieve a 30% metric for women speaking on panels next year, reversing a slight shortfall from the current year.
- Genpak plans to deliberately alter board search criteria to exclude men from initial slates until digital-experience requirements are met and intends to identify potential board candidates two years in advance to build a pipeline.
- Campbell's Soup Company anticipates a 150-year strategic evolution requiring board members with specific skill sets to navigate seismic shifts caused by generational changes from baby boomers to millennials and global economic realignment.
- Denise Morrison expects to continue mentoring the top 20 women in her company to address the leadership pipeline attrition occurring at the director-vice president level and plans to add board readiness topics to her "Jeffersonian dinners."
- Ron O'Hanley predicts that Millennials will become more astute about firm leadership and may leave organizations lacking diverse leadership, while noting that post-2008 risk aversion has reduced opportunities for risk-taking.
- State Street Global Advisors intends to continue issuing governance principles to pressure nominating committees to broaden slate considerations and anticipates the "Fearless Girl" statue may become a permanent New York gift, though it could be moved if not extended.
- The panelists foresee boards continuing to morph over a five-to-six-year horizon, requiring continuous learning to adapt to changes, and warn that failing to expand search criteria beyond sitting CEOs will perpetuate a lack of diversity.
- Stakeholders argue that expanding the search lens to include executives from other companies and entrepreneurial women will result in wider slates, higher numbers of women in executive roles, and improved decision-making through diversity of thought.
- Large institutional investors are expected to drive change by pushing for diversity, with Ron O'Hanley noting that the representation of women in funds like CalSTRS (70%) will compel companies to prioritize these issues.
- Risks include stagnation in diversity metrics if action is not accelerated, the potential for destructive groupthink if search criteria remain narrow, and the challenge of creating diverse slates when past decisions excluded women from initial candidate lists.