Governance and Board

Boards in Turbulent Times: Corporate Governance Europe Report 2009
Ten years ago when Heidrick & Struggles launched the first biennial report into the governance practices of European boards, it would have been hard to imagine the severe economic climate that would prevail for the publication of this, the sixth edition. The report includes data from 371 of Europe's top companies and is organized by theme: working methods, committees, composition (including diversity), remuneration and board evaluation, and by country.

South African Supplement to the European Corporate Governance Report 2009: Boards in turbulent times
Directors and the boards on which they serve, play a vital role in the success or failure of companies. As part of the current debate Heidrick & Struggles has examined the current status of the largest South African public companies.

Turkey Supplement to the European Corporate Governance Report 2009: Boards in turbulent times
There are few studies on the reality of board practices in Turkey and at Heidrick & Struggles in Istanbul, we have taken the initiative to examine the current outlook of publicly-held Turkey boards on how they govern themselves.

Raising the Bar: Corporate Governance in Europe 2007 Report
The Fifth Edition of this bienneial report provides a comprehensive overview of European boards, offering perspective and context for compliance.

10th Annual Corporate Board Effectiveness Study (2006-2007)
This Study was conducted by Heidrick & Struggles International and the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.

This in-depth study covers current issues and is the largest U.S. study of board directors, with a response from 768 directors at approximately 660 of the 2,000 largest U.S. publicly-traded companies. Fifteen thousand directors were sent a 7-page survey covering 25 issues.

Building High-Performance Boards
This complete work includes the following individual articles:

Embracing Corporate and Board Diversity
Heidrick & Struggles, in conjunction with Corporate Board Member magazine, took a look at board diversity and how it is as critical to business strategy as revenue and productivity goals.

Board Leadership Consulting

Max Landsberg

In search of excellence in CEO Succession: seven habits of highly effective boards
Selecting the new CEO is one of the Board's three most crucial tasks, matched only by a decision to merge or sell the company, or the selection of a new Chairman. To help Boards address this important topic, this article sets out the seven steps required for addressing a specific foreseeable succession need, and concludes with briefer suggestions for longer-range planning.

Heidrick & Struggles Governance Letter
a quarterly publication

John Gardner

Lee Hanson

A Classic Model of Onboarding (4th quarter 2008)

by John T. Gardner and Lee Hanson

Right from the start, reap the full value of the skills, expertise, and leadership
that made the new director such an attractive candidate in the first place.

Thames Fulton

Bonnie Gwin

Hiding in Plain Sight (3rd quarter 2008)

By Thames Fulton and Bonnie Gwin

How to find and develop the next generation of directors.

Keith B. Meyer

Robert S. Rollo

Boards think they're doing a good job . (2nd quarter 2008)

By Keith B. Meyer and Robert S. Rollo

Boards think they're doing a good job. but CEOs disagree. What directors can do to bridge that disconnect.

Stephen A. Miles

Theodore L. Dysart

Roadmap for successful succession planning (1st quarter 2008)

By Stephen A. Miles and Theodore L. Dysart

This robust four-step process enables the board to fully address its leadership transition

responsibilities and help set the new CEO on the right course.

Theodore L. Dysart

The verdict on SOX: Full adjustment (4th quarter 2007)

Interview by Theodore L. Dysart

As the Sarbanes-Oxley era marches on, veteran board counselors Richard Beattie and

John Finley render judgment on the law that was thrust on Corporate America five years ago.

John Thompson

Jeff Sanders

The role of the CEO in Board selection (3rd quarter 2007)

By John Thompson and Jeff Sanders

Too much, or too little, involvement can be problematic. Here is a best-practices process

for CEO input and participation in the search for a new board member.

Randy Jayne

Bob Rollo

A fine balance: What makes an effective lead director (1st quarter 2007)
by Randy Jayne, Managing Partner and Bob Rollo, Partner
With the practice of naming lead directors at an all-time high, there should be a clear understanding of the characteristics that the role requires.

Rich Rosen

Ted Dysart

The board as a team: It takes the right framework (4th quarter 2006)
by Rich Rosen, Partner Leadership Consulting and Ted Dysart, Managing Partner, NA Board of Directors Practice
Directors arrive alone and leave alone, yet somehow need to make a great deal happen when they are together. To elevate performance, teamwork is essential.

Bonnie Gwin

So many public companies, so few women directors (2nd quarter 2006)
by Bonnie Gwin, President Americas and Anne Lim O'Brien, Partner
Boards want diversity. Women want board seats. Yet women still lag far behind men in serving on top boards. We investigate how to bridge that gap.

Ted Dysart

Board trends for 2006: It's back to the future (1st quarter 2006)
by Ted Dysart, Managing Partner, NA Board of Directors Practice
With Sarbanes-Oxley finally starting to take a back seat, we look at how directors can refocus on what they've been missing the last few years.

Ted Dysart

Boardroom Briefing
a publication of Directors & Boards magazine

Overseeing the Networked Organization (Winter 2007)
by Ted Dysart and Dominque Turcq
The networking and collaborative teaming that have long been predicted as the next wave in how companies do their work is finally coming to pass.

Richard Greene

Keeping Up With International Acquisitions: What Boards Can Do (Summer 2007)
by Anne Lim O'Brien and Richard Greene
Strategic international acquisitions and alliances are having an impact on board composition and recruiting.

John Gardner

Thames Fulton

Boardroom Briefing: When the Quality of D&O Insurance counts in Recruiting Board members (Spring 2007)
by John Gardner and Thames Fulton
Ten liability red flags, and how companies can address them with prospective board members.

Bonnie Gwin

Torrey Foster

Boardroom Briefing: Practicing Social Responsibility with a Heart (Winter 2006)
by Bonnie Gwin and Torrey Foster
A seismic generational shift has greatly heightened the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in attracting the best and the brightest talent to leading companies.

Graham Galloway

Boardroom Briefing: Human Capital and M&A (Fall 2006)
by Graham Galloway and Dale Jones
During mergers and acquisitions, boards rightly focus on the strategic, financial and governance aspects of a transaction. However, they often neglect one of the greatest sources of value in many M&A transactions: the talent of the management team in the target company.

Melanie Kusin

Boardroom Briefing: Crossing the Boardroom Digital Divide (Summer 2006)
by Melanie Kusin, Vice Chairman, and Kelvin Thompson
While board members listen to orderly presentations in hushed boardrooms, the company's story-truly or falsely-is unfolding in a cacophony of voices over a volatile, instantaneous, worldwide, grassroots technology.

Jory Marino

Michael Nieset

Boardroom Briefing: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (Spring 2006)
by Jory Marino, Managing Partner, Global CIO practice and Michael Nieset, Senior Partner, Technology and Board practices
Not having a CIO on your board might be a bigger risk than you think.

Ted Dysart

Boardroom Briefing: Making Board/Shareholder Communications Work (Fall 2005)
an Interview with Ted Dysart, Managing Partner, NA Board of Directors Practice
Even the best directors need to know how to communicate to bring full effectiveness to their boards.

Les Csorba

Boardroom Briefing: CEO Succession Planning (Spring 2005)
features "The War for Character" by Les Csorba, Board of Directors Practice
In the wake of corporate scandals, character has become a required trait for corporate directors.

Directors Monthly
published by National Association of Corporate Directors

Ted Dysart

Randy Jayne

The Convergence of Business Consulting and Executive Search (July 2006)
by Ted Dysart, Managing Partner, NA Board of Directors Practice and Randy Jayne Co-Managing Partner, Tysons Corner
A new paradigm in board-building has changed the way boards use search firms.

Ted Dysart

Management and Shareholders: Keep the Balance (December 2003)
by Ted Dysart, Managing Partner, NA Board of Directors Practice
The best directors can juggle their responsibilities to the company and its shareholders. Here's how.

Director Advisory
a publication of Directorship magazine

Ted Dysart

Finding Grace Under Pressure (July 2007)
by Ted Dysart, Managing Partner, NA Board of Directors Practice
Courage is a defining characteristic of being an exceptional director.

Board Studies and Surveys

Women as Change Agents
Women continue to make inroads into the boardroom, slowly but surely, according to a joint survey from Heidrick & Struggles and Women Corporate Directors. 76% of respondents said they opposed a legal quota mandating an increased number of women occupying public board seats. As one respondent put it, "Women will rise on the merits. Anyone forced onto the board when the board prefers other candidates has a tough climb."

2005 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners of the Fortune 500
sponsored by Heidrick & Struggles
A follow up to Catalyst's Census of Women Board Directors. An executive summary to this detailed report is also available.

2005 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500
sponsored by Heidrick & Struggles
Women directors are making progress, but much work remains. Find the numbers and opinions inside.

Corporate governance in Europe: what's the outlook?
by Heidrick & Struggles
This study uniquely documents the movement of some 300 of Europe's top companies towards best practices in corporate governance, as revealed by the survey's examination of the key aspects of board structure, board composition and disclosure.

A Synopsis from
Shining a Light on the Critical Role of Boards
by Dorothy D Adams of Capital Value;
co-sponsored by Heidrick & Struggles
A Survey of Boards of Equity-Backed Companies

Board Insights 2004: What Europe's Board Directors Think
by Corporate Board Member Europe
What do the directors of European companies think are the most important issues facing their companies?

Is Your Board Fit for the Global Challenge? Corporate Governance in Europe (2003)
The Third Biennial Survey Conducted by Heidrick & Struggles
How is corporate governance evolving among major European companies?