2011 Board Composition Report

How have changes in the exec comp world affected S&P 1500 boards? In case you missed our series on board composition over the past few weeks, we've combined all four articles into a single report. Our areas of research and key findings include:

• Board turnover: Over half of the S&P 1500 firms studied had at least one change in membership in the last fiscal year.
• Meeting frequency: Board meeting frequency has decreased slightly over the past three years, from an average of 8.3 meetings per year in 2008 to an average of 7.8 in 2010.
• Female representation: Over 75 percent of S&P 1500 boards have at least one female director, but only 3 percent of firms have four or more female directors. (The majority of S&P 1500 boards have eight to ten directors.)
• Committees: 68 percent of S&P 1500 boards have either three or four committees. The average board has four committees.

For more data, including information in each category by industry and company size, request the full report.