Board Readiness

Overview Why you should be interested What you need to know Resources WFF Board Director Registry Board Readiness Tools
Submit your Director's Profile Find a Board Candidate

Overview of Board Readiness


Research shows that gender parity among directors on corporate boards results in improved bottom line performance for the companies involved. Catalyst, the research organization that focuses on women's career advancement, discovered that only 15.2% of Fortune 500 corporate board seats were filled by women in 2008. At the present rate of progress, it will take 70 years to achieve parity. The WFF has an action plan to speed up that process and place executive members on boards to attain better stakeholder representation and effective governance. This board initiative is designed to achieve the WFF goal to have at least 30% female board members on every foodservice senior team and board by 2010.

We have developed programs and affiliations that will help to prepare, promote and place WFF executive members on corporate boards. These initiatives include:

  • A database of board qualified candidates,
  • Affiliations with preeminent governance training and educational organizations,
  • Relationships with CEOs, nominating committees and executive search firms,
  • Information about board service, with interviews and tools, on the WFF website, and services that will link members with corporate board opportunities

Why should you be interested in serving on a board of directors?


Board service is professionally challenging and rewarding.
A board exemplifies the character of the company by demonstrating adherence to high standards of ethics, compliance and good governance. You will not only contribute to this process, but you will learn from it. These experiences will accelerate your professional development as well as allow you to bring the benefits of your service back to your company.

Board service is personally fulfilling.
A board seat is a significant commitment. However, if you are willing to take on this leadership position, you will gain the satisfaction of “making a difference” and of being a valuable participant in the success of a business. You will also gain invaluable insights and experience from networking with the other directors. These contacts can be personally as well as professionally rewarding.

You can help achieve gender parity on corporate boards.
The main function of a board is enhancing shareholder value. Research shows that gender parity among directors on corporate boards results in improved bottom line performance for the companies involved.

You can help the WFF attain its goal to have at least 30% female members on every foodservice senior team or board by 2010.
The Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) has an action plan to speed up gender parity by placing executive members on boards in order to attain better stakeholder representation and more effective governance. This board initiative is designed to achieve the WFF’s goal of to have at least 30 percent female members on every foodservice senior team and board by 2010 and achieve gender parity on senior teams and boards by 2020.

 

What do you need to know before becoming a director?


Today’s regulatory climate makes many director candidates think twice about accepting a board seat. You should investigate every aspect of a director’s role and responsibility. Here are a number of resources to help you in that investigation:

Haynes Boone has provided a summary of these issues in “Should You Accept That Board Seat?” The article answers the many FAQs you should be considering before pursuing board service.

Another great information source is the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Founded in 1977, it is the only non-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to serving the corporate governance needs of directors and boards. NACD's mission is to achieve improved corporate governance through better board practice. By offering education, information, conducting independent research, and disseminating leading practices, NACD provides resources for increasing director and board effectiveness. Find out more at http://www.nacdonline.org.

In late 2005 and 2006, Heidrick & Struggles hosted a series of roundtable discussions for women executives to share their experiences and exchange ideas about serving on corporate boards. A summary of their findings can be found at http://www.heidrick.com/execwoman.aspx.

Corporate Board Member magazine is an information resource for senior officers and directors of publicly traded corporations, top private companies, and Global 1000 firms. Each issue provides readers with decision-making tools to help them deal with the challenges confronting their boards. Topics include corporate governance, board trends and best practices, director compensation, director liability, board education, board size and make-up issues, management succession, recruiting directors, board advisors, shareholder activism, and audit committee issues.

An online information library complements the magazine, which is published every other month. This Resource Center offers valuable content on strategic and governance issues, executive and director compensation, audit committees, risk management, international and technology trends, investor relations, and other critical topics facing today's directors and officers of publicly traded companies.

The Resource Center also features webcasts and interviews. In December 2002, Corporate Board Member and the NASDAQ Stock Market launched a series of educational webcasts on board governance issues. The webcasts include perspectives of top board advisors from American International Group, Inc. (AIG), PricewaterhouseCoopers, Spencer Stuart, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, as well as NASDAQ and Corporate Board Member. See http: //www.boardmember.com/.

Executive search firms that specialize in board search are great resources for additional information on the criteria for directors. Here is a list of firms:

Heidrick & Struggles International; http://www.heidrick.com/Services/BoardSvcs/

Korn / Ferry International; http://www.kornferry.com/Library/Process.asp?P=BoardServices

Leadership Capital Group; http://www.lcgsearch.com/index_content.html

Spencer Stuart; http://www.spencerstuart.com/services/boards/recruitment

In 2003, eight experienced businesswomen recognized a coming trend and joined together to form the Directors Council, a private company to meet the needs of corporate boards for increased independence, effectiveness and diversity.

http://www.directorscouncil.com/

If you have additional resource material or recommended links for our Board Director Registry site, please send an e-mail to director@womensfoodserviceforum.com or call the WFF headquarters at at 972-770-9100.

Available resources for members and how to access them


Today's regulatory climate makes many director candidates think twice about accepting a board seat. You should investigate every aspect of a director's role and responsibility.

WFF has a number of resources available to help you navigate your roadmap to a board seat.

Affiliation Partner Training Programs

Board experts agree that governance training is an important foundation for becoming a corporate director. Alignment with organizations that share the WFF mission of Elevating Women Leaders and advancing women executives to the boardroom will make this possible.

The WFF has developed three ground-breaking Executive Development affiliations.  Though serving similar objectives, these affiliation partners offer unique programs with very different approaches geared toward members’ needs. These affiliations are with:

  • Kellogg School of Management - Center for Executive Women (CEW)
  • National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)
  • On Board Bootcamp

 

Board Readiness Tools


•     A Professional Bio Can Profile Your Strengths (2).doc (Word document, 36 KB)
•     Board Recruitment Questions to Ask (2).doc (Word document, 69 KB)
•     Checklist of Issues to Review for D&O Insurance.doc (Word document, 24 KB)
•     Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan (2).doc (Word document, 71 KB)
•     Director's Checklist 1 (2).doc (Word document, 69 KB)
•     Liability Issues for Officers and Directors.doc (Word document, 26 KB)
•     Personal Assessment (2).doc (Word document, 69 KB)
•     Questions for Prospective Board Members 1 (2).doc (Word document, 70 KB)
•     What Is the Role of Officers and Directors in a Corporation.doc (Word document, 27 KB)
•     What Skills Do You Bring to a Board == Expanded (2).doc (Word document, 74 KB)


Directions for Submitting your Director’s Profile

How to begin:
Click on Submit your Director's Profile to be included in the WFF Board Director Registry. Fill in each page completely before proceeding to the next. If you have basic information already in your profile, please review this for accuracy and make any necessary changes.
The Director’s Profile contains a range of questions from employment to board history == so for ease in completion it is best to have that information available when you begin. Also complete all sections of the Director’s Profile that apply to you as thoroughly as possible. The information you provide will be the foundation used when candidate slates are prepared. The details count!
When filling out your Director’s Profile for the first time you will need to complete all fields. This ensures that all your information will be saved. Once you have completed the initial posting, all of your data will be maintained and you will then be responsible for updates to your profile. Opportune times to update your Director’s Profile include: when you gain new skills, join or end your term on a board, change titles, change employers or as part of your annual profile review and update. Mark your calendar as a reminder.
When you complete the profile, be sure to attach your bio and résumé and then click send.
What to expect:
After you have posted your profile, you will be contacted by the WFF Board Readiness Specialist. Together you will review the content of your Director’s Profile along with your resume and bio. You will be advised on your personal “Roadmap to a Board Seat” including areas of fit, suggested follow-up to improve your board qualifications and recommendations on improving your bio and resume that will result in the highest-impact presentation for your board candidacy. 
Next Steps:
Review and update your bio and profile annually to reflect any new skills to ensure you receive consideration for all appropriate board opportunities.
 “Board linking” is both a methodical and opportunistic process, which is strictly confidential. Most public companies have boards comprised of only 10-14 members. Those actively seeking new board members often engage in a lengthy and disciplined process that can take as much as a year to complete to make sure they have the most qualified candidate(s). As such, even if you are not hearing about board opportunities from the WFF, it does not mean you are not under consideration.  In fact, at any one time, there may be a number of WFF Executive Members in various stages of the Board consideration process. Remember, even if you are not invited to interview, you are getting valuable exposure, the first step to landing a board seat. 
The WFF is committed to developing the relationships which will further link our vetted women to board opportunities. To that end we are embarking on an integrated marketing campaign to create awareness of the WFF Board Director Registry and to increase the number of board requests that are directed to WFF. This will provide greater exposure of members in the WFF Board Director Registry and will deepen our ability to link members to board opportunities. Additionally, we will continue to invest in programming and service enhancements to keep our Board Readiness initiatives current.
Patience in the process is required and it’s critical to also leverage your own network. Make sure you inform others of your interest in Board Service.  
How the Board Referral Process Works
·         Interested companies and organizations who seek Board of Director candidates contact the WFF, by way of the Chair, the President or the WFF Board Specialist. The Board of Director positions may be for public, private, or advisory boards. Interested companies should send an e-mail to director@womensfoodserviceforum.com, or call the WFF Headquarters at 972-770-9100.
·         Using the WFF Board Director Registry database, the profiles of WFF Executive members who have completed the vetting process will be reviewed by WFF’s Board Specialist. The selection and candidate review process is completely transparent, and is based on criteria set by the Nominating Committee (or decision makers at the originating organization), qualification “matches” generated from the WFF data base and candidate availability.
·         Those who meet the set criteria will become part of a candidate slate of referrals for potential selection. Database reviews and referrals are made by the WFF Board Specialist.
·         If you are chosen as a “candidate of interest” for a particular Board opportunity, you will be contacted by the WFF Board Specialist at which time the specific Board opportunity will be reviewed with you, your interest confirmed and next steps discussed.

The WFF would like to congratulate you on your decision to participate in the WFF Board Director Registry. Please take the time to review this website for resources, articles and tools designed to support you in your “Roadmap to a Board Seat.”