The number of FTSE 150 companies with at least one non-British person on their board rose last year, reinforcing what was already one of the world’s highest levels of foreign representation, according to a study by recruitment agency Spencer Stuart.
The number of companies with a foreign director increased to 84 percent last year from 81 percent in 2012, the study shows. About one in four FTSE 150 chairmen and a third of chief executive officers are now foreign nationals.
‘UK boards continue to be among the most geographically diverse in the world,’ notes Spencer Stuart in the study. ‘Even in a reduced universe that excludes companies that cannot realistically be described as UK firms, 82 percent have at least one foreign director, up from 78 percent in the last survey.’
The study shows the number of female senior executives at FTSE 150 firms rose to 14.5 percent last year from 13 percent in 2012. Last year, 18 percent of non-executive directorships on FTSE 150 boards were held by women, an increase from 15 percent in 2012 and 12 percent in 2011.
Women account for 38 percent of all directors appointed over the past year, according to the study. Only seven FTSE 150 companies have no female board members. But only 23 of the 104 female senior executives counted in the study held a non-executive position on an outside board. The number was collected from the 70 FTSE 150 companies that provided such data.
‘Of continuing concern is the executive pipeline,’ the study adds. ‘Since the last survey, two of the female chief executives have retired or moved on and one has announced her departure; all of these are to be replaced by men.’
