The Benefits of Board Appointments

Becoming a Non Executive Director (NED) is an increasingly common ambition.  The good news is that at least 50% of companies recruit a new Board Member every year.  That means there are potentially 220,000+ Australian NED roles filled annually. However, it is a highly competitive environment.  As such, if you want to get appointed, the biggest mistake you can make is not starting the process early and not understanding how board appointments are made. 

Why You Should Consider a Board Appointment

If you haven’t considered a NED appointment, you should. A study from Harvard Business Review found that serving on a board increases an executives likelihood of being promoted by 44% and even if they weren’t promoted their annual pay increased by 13%. Further studies have shown that those who hold a NED appointment in addition to an executive role:  have greater job security and are unemployed less. Sitting on a board can also help future proof your career, prepare for retirement, redundancy or a career change. Board appointments also help you work more effectively with your own board and facilitate new connections – useful for both business development and pleasure. A board appointment today more than ever should be part of your career plan.

Career Development

Regardless of remuneration, all board appointments: offer the opportunity to brand yourself as a non executive director; demonstrate your strategic expertise and; the networks developed can be leveraged professionally and personally.

Additional Income

Whilst some board directors get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars the average commercial NED gets $35k-$65k and because governing boards are essential to most organisations they are rarely affected by global financial downturns.

Personal Development

Giving back to an industry, sector or cause you are passionate about drives many directors. Whether in a commercial or NFP setting, sitting on a board of an organisation you are passionate about is a terrific way to utilise your skills and experience.

Don't Do It Alone

Finding and gaining a Non Executive or Advisory Board role is challenging. However, gaining a board appointment within 12 months should be your ambition. Whether you are starting your journey or are an experienced Non Executive wanting to develop a portfolio career – we have a suite of services designed to get you appointed.

If you… Don’t know where to begin your board career? Are unsure of the board appointment process and need guidance? Are unclear which board is likely to appoint you and need clarity? Don’t know where to find board opportunities? Are struggling to transition from an Executive/CEO to a Non Executive and need advice? You don’t know how much Non Executives get paid and how long it will take to get appointed? Or, are just unclear whether a board appointment is for you? … then we can help.

Our Board Appointment Solutions

With over 15 years of board recruitment experience and having appointed hundreds of individuals to some of the most significant board roles in the world few know more about how and why people get appointed than us. Utilising this experience, we have designed four exclusive packages that have helped thousands of people gain a board appointment.

Each of our packages has been designed to help our members gain board appointments – our services are not offered elsewhere and each package includes access to Australia’s largest list board vacancies and our Non Executive Program guarantees a board appointment. Find out more here.

International Options

If you are located outside of Australia or New Zealand, we have alternate membership packages. Our sister site in the UK – boardappointments.co.uk – provides access to UK Board  Vacancies plus vital support services to get a board appointment within 12 months. For the rest of the world, boardappointments.com offers access to all our Board Appointment Coaching Program and board application support.

What We Do Works

Since our launch in 2013 Board Direction has successfully worked with thousands of clients and over 50,000 have subscribed to receive our weekly newsletters and board vacancy alerts. We could not have gained, or maintained, this level of support if what we did didn’t work.  Below is just some of the feedback we have received. In fact, you can see just some of our successes here.

Thanks to my Board Direction membership my non-executive career is well underway. I secured two non-executive board positions this year.

Karen Grimes

Executive Member