Board Diversity

How can WBL help your company or your client find new board members?

WBL is available and interested in providing candidate ideas for any board seeking a new candidate.  We help both non-profit and for-profit companies, as well as companies or consultants working on creating Advisory Boards.  We help companies, CEOs, board chairs, search firm consultants—or whomever the “searching party” may be.  Our WBL Foundation Associates bring a rich experiential background—senior executive and health care experience—that can benefit many boards of directors. 

WBL does not charge for this service—helping get more women from the health care industry on corporate boards is part of our WBL mission.  WBL does not conduct a board “search” per se, and we don’t screen.  We simply provide potential candidates. 

Specifically, how does WBL help?

In two manners:

1) WBL gathers information from the company in need about the board opportunity.  Where is the company based, is the opportunity paid, and precisely what experience is needed?  What is the timeline?

The company or search firm approves a description such as the one below that is sent around to WBL’s network.  Executives self-select and submit their resumes if they are interested.  All resumes received (male or female, health care or non-health care) are passed along, unscreened to the searching party.  WBL typically receives anywhere from 10-50 resumes in response to these postings, depending upon what the company needs.

Sample Board Search Posting to WBL network

A publicly traded medical device company located in the mid-west is seeking one or more candidates for its board of directors.  The Company focuses on the development of cardiac medical devices.  The preferred qualifications for the potential board member would be a current or recently retired CEO, COO or CFO.  It is not necessary that the candidate have experience in the medical device or related area.  The company’s board meets five times a year in the Minneapolis metropolitan area and by teleconference as needed.  Directors are compensated at a competitive level including cash and stock consideration. 

2) WBL maintains a database of resumes and bios of many of our Foundation Associates.  WBL staff can review our database and see what candidates may be a good fit.  However, candidates chosen from our database are not necessarily available or interested in board opportunities at the current moment.


How can WBL help ME as a prospective board member?

1) WBL has published Answering the Call as a resource for considering the risks and responsibilities of governance.  This book is a great place to start considering whether board service is right for you.

2) WBL has Advancing Women In Business available as a resource for considering how to get on the nominating committee’s radar screen. 

3) If you are eligible for the WBL Foundation, you have access to WBL’s board opportunity postings.  If you are not a WBL Foundation Associate yet, click the Nomination page for information on how to nominate yourself or a colleague to WBL.

4) WBL’s annual Summits feature programming about serving on a corporate board.  The 2010 WBL Summit will feature both a Pre-Summit workshop about preparing for your first board search along with a session featuring women who have made the leap to a for-profit corporate board from positions similar to yours.  WBL also can recommend intensive programs to help prepare you for board service.

5) WBL has created a set of materials to assist companies in developing a structured and transparent policy for addressing and promoting employee participation on outside boards. We encourage WBL
Foundation Associates to utilize the following documents in their own companies:


Where can I learn more about trends and issues relating to corporate governance?

WBL suggests you familiarize yourself with the National Association of Corporate Directors to follow governance trends. 

In addition, WBL’s Recent News page tracks many interesting articles about board service, board diversity, and other issues of interest.

Finally, WBL’s Events page contains information about some other organizations’ events that also could be helpful to you in meeting other board members.