Connections are Key to Getting On Corporate Boards
- Rachel Barron
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
There has been a lot of media attention on the fact that the number of women serving on corporate boards is disproportionately low. Yet many qualified women do not understand how board members are chosen and what is involved in serving.
Accelerating Aspiring Women Into the Corporate Boardroom, a panel discussion and breakout session during the 2025 REACH Women’s Conference on April 23rd, demystified board recruitment and service.
The three panelists, all current or former private equity and public board of directors members, were Abby Donnelly, CEO coach and president of The Leadership & Legacy Group; Marybeth Hays, president of Hays Advising LLC; and Lily Chang, retired private equity executive. The panel was moderated by Stephen Smulowitz, associate professor of management for the Wake Forest University School of Business.
The number one key to getting on corporate boards is “1,000 percent, or maybe 10,000 percent, about networking,” Chang noted. Board members tend to know others who serve on boards and when those boards are looking for new members. If they already know and trust you, they are more likely to recommend you.
“It’s the accumulation of a career of networking,” Chang said. “If you know some folks currently on corporate boards, it’s a great opportunity to ask for a coffee and some Q and A. Not, ‘Can I be on your board?’ but ‘What is it like? Tell me your story. How have you found it? What are the downsides? What surprised you?’ ”
Getting to know board members of the company you currently work for can be a valuable place to start. If you are in a position that doesn’t have access to the board, consider how you might get the opportunity to attend a board meeting, the panelists advised. Being in a position to give a presentation – or helping your supervisor prepare for one – may present a chance to attend the meeting. Afterward, you might contact a board member or two and ask for feedback on the presentation.
Another way to get the attention of the board might be taking on high-profile projects, Donnelly said. “If I think about ways of getting visibility, it would be taking on special projects that are very important to the board… If there’s an assignment that might be a short-term assignment or even a longer-term assignment, I might put myself in a position to get that.”
Recruiters and certifications are unnecessary
The panel discouraged using board recruiters or head hunters to obtain a board seat. Sixty percent of all corporate board seats are filled entirely through relationships, not by recruiters or an advertisement, Smulowitz said. Finding a recruiter in itself requires a lot of networking and is expensive.
The panelists stressed that it is also unnecessary to have special certifications in order to be chosen as a board director. Still, Hays said, she did find the Harvard University board of directors education program to be helpful and such programs can be valuable for the networking opportunities. Chang disagreed, advising instead to access no-cost options such as the websites of the “Big 4” accounting firms (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG), which have a wealth of free content online about board service.
Despite the current political environment and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, most corporate boards remain committed to DEI even if they may not talk about it as explicitly, Donnelly said. “There is tremendous focus on wanting to include diversity in the boardroom and recognizing that diversity is not just good for our community and good for the people who are sitting on the board, it is very good for business also.”
Noses In, Fingers Out
Serving on a board of directors is mostly about providing high-level, strategic oversight across all functional areas of a company, Hays said. “There’s a concept that’s been helpful to me called NIFO: Noses In, Fingers Out. You have to understand the difference between the doing and the appropriate role as a board director. I think the most important skill you can develop is learning how to ask the right questions and how deep to go, and when to have those conversations in the boardroom (as opposed to) those that you have outside the boardroom.”
If you’re a person who relishes the opportunity to learn about other companies, help them protect shareholder value, and advise them at a 10,000-foot level, you will likely enjoy board service, the panelists said. The time commitment varies according to factors such as the size of the company and whether or not it is publicly traded. Attendance at public company board meetings is mandatory, and board attendance records can be made public.
And it’s important to remember that while board service is generally part-time, if the company experiences a crisis, it can quickly become a 24/7 proposition. “It’s definitely not the right thing to do for prestige or an ego boost. You have to really want to do it,” Chang said.
