New York — January 9, 2015 — Leading an effort to bring more female candidates to the attention of board nominating committees, the prominent executive search firm Spencer Stuart and WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) are driving a series of global initiatives to boost diversity in boardrooms – both from the supply side and the demand side.
“Moving the needle in the U.S., an area where the presence of women on boards is still at just less than 19%, takes incredible amounts of action on all sides of the equation,” says Julie Hembrock Daum, head of Spencer Stuart’s North American Board Practice and a member of the firm’s own board.
“We want to accelerate corporate governance globally, and one of the best ways is to recruit more women. Study after study show women make boards more effective,” says WCD CEO Susan Stautberg and author of Women on Board. “At the same time, we are creating a powerful community of women globally who are exceptional, thoughtful, and influential board members and are ideal candidates for further board opportunities.” WCD, the largest membership organization of women on boards, has 66 chapters globally, with more than 3,500 members serving on 6,500 boards.
“For more than two decades, Spencer Stuart has been a pioneer in helping boards identify, assess, and recruit talented directors, and has helped place women in more than 1,300 board director roles around the world,” says Stautberg. “Spencer Stuart casts a wide net for diverse directors of many kinds and is recognized for its highly rigorous director evaluation process.”
Joint Spencer Stuart and WCD initiatives include:
- Working with Professor Boris Groysberg of the Harvard Business School and research partner Deborah Bell to launch a major global board survey of male and female board directors early in 2015
- Multiple WCD chapter launches globally to create local director communities for networking and sharing best practices
- Spencer Stuart board experts speaking to WCD groups on how to best position oneself for new board opportunities and about governance trends and best practices published in the firm’s annual portfolio of over 20 Spencer Stuart Board Indexes
- Contribution of Spencer Stuart expertise in WCD’s Thought Leadership Council and Family Business Council, as well as in all four WCD Institutes
- Spencer Stuart’s sponsorship of the WCD Visionary Award for Leadership and Governance (given to a top-performing company and board with three or more women board members)
- Both board training for new directors and for women preparing to be directors
For more information, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or sbrownstein@teminandco.com.
About Spencer Stuart
Spencer Stuart is one of the world’s leading executive search consulting firms, with an active presence in boardrooms around the world. Privately held since 1956, Spencer Stuart applies its extensive knowledge of industries, functions and talent to advise select clients – ranging from major multinationals to emerging companies to nonprofit organizations – and address their leadership requirements. Through 55 offices in 30 countries and a broad range of practice groups, Spencer Stuart consultants focus on senior-level executive search, board director appointments, succession planning, board assessment, and in-depth senior executive management assessments. For more information on Spencer Stuart, please visit
www.spencerstuart.com.
About WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD)
WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors, comprised of more than 3,500 members serving on over 6,500 boards in 66 chapters around the world, with many more slated in the next two quarters. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD members serve is $8 trillion – if WCD were a country, its economy would be the world’s third largest, behind only the U.S. and China. In addition, WCD members serve on numerous boards of large private companies globally.
WCD membership provides a unique platform for learning from the intellectual capital of accomplished women from around the world, and WCD’s mission is to increase courage, candor, inclusion, and cohesion in the boardroom. KPMG is a Global Partner of WCD. Spencer Stuart is a Premier Partner, and WCD Strategic Partners include Marriott International, Marsh & McLennan Companies, and Pearl Meyer & Partners; WCD Alliance Partners include International Finance Corporation (IFC), JPMorgan Chase, and Northern Trust.
WCD has 66 global chapters, located in Arizona, Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Chile, Cleveland, Colombia, Columbus,Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greater Colorado, Greater New Mexico, Gulf Cooperation Council, Hanoi, Hawaii, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kansas City, Kenya, London, Los Angeles/Orange County, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mexico, Milan, Minnesota, Morocco, Mumbai, Netherlands, New York, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern California, North Florida/South Georgia, Panama, Peru, Philadelphia, Philippines, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, South Africa, South Florida, Switzerland, Sydney, Tennessee, Toronto, Turkey, Washington, D.C, and Western Canada. Upcoming chapters include Argentina, Brussels, Egypt, Guatemala, Mongolia, Poland, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, Tampa, and Thailand. For more information, visit www.womencorporatedirectors.com.
Press Contact
Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar
Temin and Company
212-588-8788