Age alone rarely limits your potential as a Non-Executive Director (NED), yet I am often asked, “Am I too old or too young to be a NED?”. It might be a valid concern for some, but fixating on age inhibits your likelihood of gaining a board appointment. Instead, consider focusing on three different elements: the unique value you bring to the board table – your board value, what boards and organisations you want to be appointed to, and which organisations will recognise the worth of your skills and experiences enough to offer you a position.
Read on, and I’ll show you what I mean and how to do that. Regardless of your age, you can secure a board appointment far more quickly than you ever imagined.
Legally & statistically, are you too old or young to be a NED?
Legally, in Australia, unless you are under the age of 18 you are not too old or too young to become a company director, including a non-executive director.
According to the 2024 Board Diversity Study by Watermark, the average age of ASX300 directors was 61, with the youngest being 29 and the oldest 92. Bear in mind that these statistics do include all executive and non-executive directors; however, close to 80% of ASX300 directors are independent or NEDs. When you also consider board tenure, it is safe to conclude that at the top corporate level in Australia, you can be too old or young to be a non-executive director. It is important to note here that as you move down the scale of opportunities, the average age of directors decreases. A case in point is that I was appointed to my first board at the age of 32 – with no prior governance experience!
Age is not everything in the eyes of the chair
When it comes to gaining a NED role, there are five key criteria chairs look for in board candidates, and age is not one of them. They are prior board experience, executive skills set, personal connection, passion, and cultural fit. Whilst age is not noted, a level of maturity is often essential to develop the skills, knowledge, experience and connection that individual boards seek when appointing a new NED. So essentially, if you have the right skills and criteria that a chair is looking for, you are the right age to be an NED.
If you’re genuinely interested in pursuing a board career, I recommend shifting your focus away from concerns about being too old or young. Instead, concentrate on understanding the unique skills and experiences you bring to the table and identify what organisations will appreciate your potential to contribute.
Know your board value
Regardless of your age, it is very unlikely that you will be appointed as a non-executive director if you are not specifically clear about what you have to offer at board level (your board value) and can compellingly articulate it formally and informally. At the very least, you must have a board pitch and a NED CV and be prepared to verbalise your pitch when networking or during board interviews.
If you are starting out or your pitch is too generic, you will likely be unclear about what you have to offer a board. Start by compiling a board value list of the skills, knowledge, and experience that you feel boards will consider valuable. The more specific, the better, as it can be leveraged to reassure prospective boards of the value you can bring. It will also help you select boards that are a good match for your skills. Every board is different, and all boards evolve. Different boards seek a specific, unique and often slightly different skill set whenever they appoint a new NED.
If you are struggling with compiling your board value list, study the current advertisements for board members, board directors and non-executive directors. Pay particular attention to the selection criteria. You will notice that age or experience regarding years are not mentioned. Start a spreadsheet listing the skills and experience that are relevant to you. This list will help you develop your board value proposition and board profile.
While compiling your board value list, I also recommend including columns to list the organisations and industries relevant to the roles you found suitable during your search. This will help later to identify organisations that will value your skills and experience.
Stay focused and on track
Don’t get sidetracked by false perceptions, such as your age, at any stage during the board appointment process, particularly when you start receiving knockbacks. Knockbacks are part of the process and an opportunity to refocus on your goals.
Concentrating on perceived, not the real, reasons you might not gain a board role is counterproductive and a reason why many give up on their board aspirations. Instead, consider more logical reasons why you may not be suitable for a board role. The specific reasons will vary depending on the role and the organisation but could encompass the following:
- appear too old or too young,
- appear over-experienced or under-experienced,
- don’t have the right skill set,
- don’t have the right industry experience,
- have no commercial board experience or too much,
- currently have too many board appointments,
- have a gap in your board CV
- would not fit with the culture of the board or organisation
Often, many of the negative reasons you arrive at are your perception only and not a genuine reason for not being appointed. My advice is not to focus on the negatives, such as I am too old or young, but instead focus on the positives, the legitimate reasons why your skills and experience are valuable to the board.
Know which organisations will value what you offer
Once you are clear on your board value list and articulate them into your board profiles and CV, it is time to identify which organisations will value them and which will likely dismiss them. For example, it is unlikely that a tech start-up headed by twenty-somethings will see value in a substantially older non-executive board director, regardless of their relevant experience. Or, unless a well-established listed company is undergoing a major cultural change, it will unlikely value youth over board and governance experience.
So, which organisations will appreciate the value you bring? Finding the answer to this question will guide you toward board roles that align more closely with your expertise. The process of a board gaining a board appointment will, in turn, be much quicker and less frustrating. Plus, you will likely be more confident and successful on that board because you took the time to find a role that was a fitting match.
Have realistic board aspirations
I firmly believe that there is a board role for everyone. However, here is the reality. Not every organisation you want to be appointed to will want to have you on their board. Working out which organisation will appoint you based on the skills and experience you offer is absolutely essential. You then need to research those organisations to determine whether they are organisations and boards you want to be appointed to. Setting realistic board aspirations will ensure that you are not wasting your time and emotions chasing roles for which you are unlikely to get an interview, let alone an appointment. It can also be detrimental to your board career if you leave a role before you complete that tenure or perform poorly because you accepted a bad-fit role. Understanding your board aspirations and the reality of your appointment to those boards will make developing a board career more successful and rewarding.
In Conclusion
Boards and committees benefit from members of all ages who bring different knowledge, experiences and attitudes. So, asking, “Am I too old or too young for a non-executive director appointment?” is the wrong question to ask yourself. Instead, concentrate on a new question, “Which organisation will appoint me?”. Stay focused on the positive attributes you offer, not negative assumptions. In my extensive experience, I truly believe there is a NED or governance role for everyone, almost regardless of age.
In some circumstances, you might rightly be considered too old or too young for the non-executive director role. However, there may be a myriad of other factors that result in you not gaining a particular appointment. At the end of the day, you need to appease real or perceived concerns and focus on roles and boards where you can add value and are a good fit. It starts by clarifying your board value and understanding which organisations will value you. I promise that by doing this, a NED appointment will happen far more quickly than you imagine.
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About the Author
David Schwarz is CEO & Founder of Board Direction – Australia’s leading board advertising and non-executive career support firm. He has over a decade of experience of putting people on boards as an international headhunter and a non-executive recruiter and has interviewed over one thousand non-executives and placed hundreds into some of the most significant public, private and NFP roles in the world
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