In this Board Monitor Singapore 2019 report, we examine the key attributes of new board appointees (their demographics, functional experience, and other background), map how those attributes flowed onto boards, and identify trends.

Our analysis surfaced the following key findings:

• Of the 31 independent, non-executive director seats filled on the boards of the 30 Straits Times Index (STI) companies, 29% went to current or former CEOs and CFOs, a significant drop from 83% last year, and 68% went to current executives.
• Boards also appointed a range of other C-suite roles—three appointments had chief information or technology officer experience, two had chief operating officer experience, and one had deputy chief executive officer experience.
• Women made some gains this year: 32% of available seats went to women, compared to 24% last year.
• In terms of the newly appointed directors’ overall career experiences, the greatest proportion (43%) came from the financial services industry, followed by consumer and business services experience, both at 18%.
• Unlike last year, when boards added no digital or social media expertise, about 19% of the seats filled were with directors with this type of experience. 

Acknowledgment

Thank you to Alain Deniau, regional managing partner of Heidrick & Struggles’ Consumer Markets Practice in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and leader of the CEO & Board Practice in Singapore, for his contributions to this report.