The Eversheds 2013 Board Report: the effective board

The ‘Eversheds Board Report: The effective board’ is a major new study into global boardroom composition and culture, investigating how board structures are changing.

In its 2013 Board Report, Eversheds once again seeks to provide insight into what makes an effective board.

The ‘Effective Board’ is a global study that analysed the share price performance of over 500 top companies in Europe, the US, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Brazil between 2011 and 2012 to investigate the characteristics of global boardrooms.

The report also reflects in-depth interviews with 85 senior board members from around the world. It follows the first Eversheds Board Report published in 2011; the first study to compare board composition and share price performance with research going back to 2007.

The headline findings of the report identifies global standards and emerging trends for effective boards:

• Board structures are changing
• Across the globe, boards are becoming smaller – and smaller boards tend to deliver better share price performance
• Diversity, in the widest sense, is key to an effective board
• Companies with a higher ratio of executive directors to non-executive directors (NEDs) tend to perform better and NEDs who come from a different sector or who are CEOs elsewhere are also key to successful performance
• The ‘shareholder spring’ has been over-stated and positive engagement between shareholders and boards is more evident

Click to request a copy of the Eversheds 2013 Board Report.