Effective Strategies for Recruiting Board Members: Three common scenarios

Recruiting a new board member is a complex task. While many board seats were once filled through personal networks in a relatively ad hoc fashion, increasing governance demands and requirements have boards applying more rigor and discipline to recruiting board members, whether or not they use the services of a professional recruiter. 

“The days of casual board appointments are over—governance now demands rigor, speed, and strategy.”

In a well-run process, the board starts by identifying the expertise needed, then seeks out candidates with the appropriate skills, evaluates for cultural fit, checks references, and more. Given the competition for high-caliber talent, the board must stay organized and manage an efficient process. Otherwise, it is likely to find itself with a drawn-out search that fails to deliver the desired outcome.  

Here we break down the three most common ways boards find valued talent and a few secrets to success for each board member recruiting scenario. 

1. Event-Driven Board Member Recruitment 

A common scenario, the Event-Driven approach takes place when a board needs to replace a director who is rolling off in the near-term or add a member to meet an externally driven deadline. Typical examples include a board member’s long-planned retirement or a director’s sudden acceptance of a new role that presents a commitment conflict. Another common situation is a pre-IPO company’s need for a Qualified Financial Expert to the Audit Committee ahead of its public market debut to meet SEC requirements. 

Recruiting board members in response to a specific event is often conducted in a relatively tight timeframe, three to six months, and sometimes much less. 

Tip for Success: Start with Alignment! 

Whether you have nine weeks or nine months to find a new board member, the best thing you can do is take time up front to ensure the board is aligned on what it’s looking for. Ideally, the board will have an up-to-date skills matrix on hand, along with a recent board evaluation identifying the skills and expertise board members believe will be needed in the next few years. From there it should be relatively quick for the Nominating & Governance Committee to agree on the key qualities sought, create a Position Specification, and circulate it for board members to confirm or provide feedback.  

“You can’t afford to misalign at the starting line. Without agreement on priorities, even the most promising search unravels.”

Coming into alignment around the boards’ needs and expectations is critical for the success of any type of search. And the impact is exaggerated when the timeline is tight: It can be particularly painful to be many weeks into a search, already interviewing candidates, and discover that board members have differing opinions about exactly which skills or traits should be prioritized. Such differences of opinion can delay the process, necessitate unwelcome compromises, and/or result in ongoing challenges to optimal board composition. Aligning on the expertise and qualities sought as a first step will save time, avoid unnecessary tension, and set the board up for a successful search.  

What This Looks like

A fast-growing tech company planning an IPO had a strong slate of directors with significant domain expertise, but recognized a need for the specific experience of a CEO who had taken a company public. With the S-1 filing approaching, timing was tight. 

With a Boardspan consultant, the board honed on the key attributes and experience it was looking for: A seasoned operator who had scaled a consumer tech business, led through market volatility, and understood what it takes to thrive as a public company. 

In this case, Boardspan surfaced a curated slate of experienced CEOs, and after a focused round of conversations, one candidate stood out. The board moved rapidly to extend an offer and welcome the new director—bringing not just IPO readiness, but invaluable peer-level insight for the CEO.  Pre-IPO moments demand clarity, speed, and strategic alignment. Having a search partner that can quickly connect the board with high-impact board members can make all the difference. 

2. Opportunistic Board Member Recruitment 

Occasionally, though a board is not actively looking to fill a seat, someone comes along who is such a great fit with so much potential to add value, that the board wants to make an immediate offer. Sometimes this requires adding a board seat or making other structural changes. While less common than other types of search, this approach is not unusual and has enabled many boards to bring on high-value members.  

Tip for Success: Move Quickly But Prudently! 

Recognize optimal talent when you see it and, knowing that others will recognize it too, move quickly. The most sought-after executives are rarely available for long, so if a board is fortunate to make a connection when a highly qualified person has availability, it’s best to act decisively.  

“The best board candidates rarely wait around. If you’re not ready to act, someone else will be.”

A board must seek a balance, of course, between its desire to make room for someone who promises to add unique value and its need to ensure there are seats for other identified talent needs. No board can afford too many unplanned additions, which can result in an unintentionally large board or a terrifically talented group of individuals, but a lack of expertise in critical areas.  

A board that maintains a clear picture of its composition and understanding of its talent needs has a distinct advantage. Those that update their Board Skills Matrix on an annual basis and keep track of key composition events such as future retirements, committee rotations, and likely leadership roles, can quickly ascertain how and where the new talent best fits with upcoming needs.  

In the Opportunistic scenario, the board will want to quickly weigh the pros and cons of making an offer, ensure board alignment around the decision, and then act. The boards that tend to benefit the most from recruiting board members opportunistically are those that are  

• already prepared, with a solid understanding of their needs 

• well aligned, with the ability to collectively see the value in a potential new member 

• and proactive, willing to deviate from set plans to take advantage of a unique opportunity 

What This Looks like

A dynamic young company that has relied on Boardspan to advise it on multiple director placements was not actively seeking a new board member, but said “Yes!” when their Boardspan consultant suggested an informal meeting with a high-profile sitting executive whose expertise and qualities were well aligned with the company’s long-term interests. An initial meeting went well, and the CEO recognized that the executive, whose full-time job limited them to sitting on one board, would be scooped up sooner rather than later. The board quickly agreed to embark on a fulsome interview and vetting process, made an offer, and welcomed the executive onto the board.  

Such introductions can come directly from a board member who recognizes that someone in their network would be a terrific fit. And having a relationship with a recruiter who can and will make introductions even when the board is not actively engaged in a search can clearly yield great results. It’s all about being open to possibilities. 

3. Strategically Planned Board Member Recruitment 

Highly organized and strategic boards have the opportunity to engage in long-term, intentional board succession planning with a horizon that stretches out well beyond one year.

“Strategic board composition doesn’t begin with an open seat—it begins years earlier, with foresight and intention.”

By getting organized early, these boards afford themselves time to get a good look at the talent market, cultivate relationships with candidates over many quarters not weeks, perhaps wait for a preferred prospect to become available, and make well-considered decisions about board composition stretching into the future.  

A multi-year succession plan typically considers member retirements, term limits, future skillsets needed, the ongoing cadence of committee rotations and leadership openings, and more. It acts as a framework or roadmap for a board to consider and act on its own strategic evolution: What will the board need to be successful next year? In three years? Like any strategic plan it must be thoughtfully assembled and updated regularly, then relied upon to identify optimal talent and choreograph ideal transitions.  

Tip for Success: Commit to an Ongoing Process 

Don’t wait for the next opening on your board to start succession planning. To be successful, the board needs to maintain current data on board member skills and expertise, future needs, and any upcoming retirements or leadership changes. 

Looking at your board composition today, do the skills on the board sufficiently support the aspirations of the board and the organization? What other expertise is needed? What’s high on the priority list? 

For boards without term limits, it is useful to discuss optimal service length and for the board chair and/or Nominating & Governance Committee chair to have conversations with each director to understand their time horizons. All boards will benefit from identifying the next generation of committee and board leaders well in advance of any transitions, and ensuring they get the needed exposure. It’s essential to know all of the pieces of the composition puzzle for a specific board, and to understand when and where there may be holes as time goes on.  

A board that has a comprehensive understanding of the competencies it has and its needs over time can use that information to consider how various scenarios might play out and create a roadmap for future recruitments. With this analysis in hand, the board can begin sizing up the market, possibly targeting “dream candidates,” and even getting to know some prospects in an unhurried fashion. Among the many advantages of this deliberate and patient approach is the greater likelihood of securing higher caliber talent, as the board will naturally have greater flexibility to collaborate around availability and start dates. 

What This Looks like

The board of a company in a highly regulated industry was facing the exits of its chair, who had deep industry experience, as well as its highly respected audit committee chair. Meanwhile, the bylaws called for committee members to rotate after two terms and for committee chairs to have served a prior term on the committee. Two years before the exits would take place, the Nominating & Governance Committee began working with Boardspan to map the skills and experience of current board members against the future needs of the organization, while also mapping committee rotations to ensure an appropriate pipeline for all of the leadership roles. Ultimately, the results of the Board Skills Analysis resembled a 3D chessboard or Rubik’s cube which allowed the board to game various scenarios and create an ideal recruitment plan with options for different contingencies.  

Savvy boards approach board succession planning like they would CEO succession planning, as a long-term, ongoing exercise. It’s an intentional, proactive, and continuous effort to align the board’s composition with the company’s evolving needs. 

“As the demands on directors evolve, so must the discipline of putting the right people at the table.”

Conclusion

In an ideal world, all boards would take the Strategic approach to recruiting board members. The effort to create a robust succession plan is not inconsequential, but it prepares a board for any scenario: Should a board find itself unexpectedly conducting an Event-Driven search or meeting a candidate that inspires an Opportunistic offer, it will have data on hand to make an informed decision quickly.  

Of course, no matter what type of board search you’re conducting, the end goal is to bring on the best possible people to provide oversight and add value. To make that happen as expeditiously as possible:  

1. always begin by ensuring the board is aligned on the type of talent it seeks
2. aim to have a solid understanding of current expertise and any gaps in current or near-future needs

If at all possible, don’t wait for a recruiting event to develop a rich understanding of your board’s composition and future needs. As board work grows more challenging, having the right talent grows ever more important. It’s worth the time to think strategically and intentionally, on a regular basis, about the talent around the table and how to continue evolving it to meet the dynamic demands of the organization it serves.  

About the Authors

Jacob Cheung is Director of Client Solutions at Boardspan, leading the company’s digital governance initiatives. His work focuses on analysis and insights that elevate board effectiveness, align governance practices with successful outcomes, and support board performance through strategically driven board evolution. 

Wendy Daines is Board Search Practice Leader at Boardspan, guiding boards of directors in identifying and appointing exceptional board members. She draws on deep expertise in governance, leadership advisory, and executive talent to ensure every board search aligns with the organization’s strategic priorities and long-term success.

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