Institutional investors and activists have got their wish for more independent and powerful boards, but not without unintended consequences. Boards are experiencing increasing difficulty in getting candidates to accept director positions. The result is boards with more diverse backgrounds, but less experience, maturity and scope than boards of the past – a potential problem for board effectiveness.
Activists may smile because this change disrupted the so-called "old boys" network, but boards now are missing much of the wisdom that CEOs bring from facing comparable issues.
This article looks at what boards need to do to bring new directors up to speed and in so doing ensure the effectiveness of the board as a whole.
Read the full article first published on Businessweek.com on 29 January 2008