As society and business are reconciling the events of the past three years, a new corporate license to operate is taking shape in many countries. Companies require a new, bolder type of leadership that is focused on organizational purpose, factors in the new demands from their workforce, and has “doing good while doing well” as a mantra. Boards must consider what new skills and experiences are necessary to future-proof themselves to lead companies in an increasingly uncertain environment.

To understand how the ASX 200 and NZ 10 board composition is changing to meet these new societal demands we analyzed the backgrounds of the new directors appointed each year since 2016. These are the key findings: 

• There is a decreased appetite in new appointments: there were 165 appointments in 2021, which is the second-lowest figure in six years 
• While there was an increase of seats going to directors who are still in active executive roles, that is still the lowest figure in all markets we analyzed 
• 2021 appointments have kept the gender balance established since 2018, with 49% of the seats going to women

For the full demographic data, view the full infographic.