There was an insightful article that appeared in a recent edition of the Institute of Directors Boardroom magazine that reflected on the need for international experience on Boards of companies with global growth aspirations.
The article from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) asked the question – are New Zealand Boards as global as their businesses?
This quandary isn’t isolated to New Zealand, with many Fortune 1000 companies now looking to diversify Boards by adding Directors with international experience. As early as 2013, Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota appointed its first American Director.
Not surprisingly, European Boards seem to be leading the diversification charge with non-national Directors representing 31% of all Directors for top corporations headquartered in France, 32% in the UK and 61% in Switzerland – compared to just 7.6% in the USA. NZX does not report on this statistic, but does recommend in its corporate governance code, for businesses to have a diversity policy (mostly linked to gender).
NZTE would argue that global Boards make global companies and while age, gender and ethnic diversity are important considerations in Board appointments, companies also need international experience if they want to grow globally.
Bringing international experience to the boardroom includes for example, having Directors who understand where to invest time and resources in international markets, having the capability to deal with the complexity of the international stage, learning from global best practice, providing a fresh perspective and having experience with cultural differences that exist in global markets.
The question most will be asking is whether it is realistic to attract this sort of talent to your business in New Zealand?
The simple answer is yes.
Governance recruitment is not too dissimilar from recruiting your next CEO or General Manager, and just as equally critical to get right. Utilising the skills, objectivity and networks of a professional recruitment consultancy to assist with this process, can provide many benefits. A governance search specialist can make a significant difference in getting the right leaders in your business.
A core role of a recruitment consultancy is their ability to interest and engage top candidates – if your objective is to attract fully qualified, international Directors to your business then you will need to expertly “sell” the opportunity. That’s what experienced governance search advisors provide – they will have access to the highest-performing leaders globally.
The very latest in technology search platforms makes international talent even more accessible in New Zealand. We’re all familiar with the likes of LinkedIn as an industry standard recruiting tool but technology is advancing in leaps and bounds with several new artificial intelligence sourcing platforms revluntionising the recruitment industry on a global scale. For example, software platform ‘Hiretual’ converts every bit of professional data from all over the web into your hiring pipeline.
External search advisors also bring a level of objectivity to the process. They work across industry and markets and bring invaluable strategic expertise to the table, when recruiting for governance positions.
If international Board diversification is a priority for your business, then an external search consultancy specialising in governance recruitment, can assist in recruiting, attracting and retaining international Directors.
Need help?
If you are looking for direction and assistance on unearthing international governance talent for your business, get in touch with us. We’d love to chat.
The Decipher Team
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