Equilar Releases Third Report of Comprehensive Board of Directors Study

Equilar Partners with NYSE Governance Services and The Miles Group to Research the Latest in Board Composition Trends

REDWOOD CITY, CA (February 04, 2014)—Equilar, the leader in executive compensation benchmarking and governance research, released the final report of its series on S&P 1500 company practices related to board retainers, committee fees, and board composition. For the third report in the series, Equilar partnered with NYSE Governance Services, Corporate Board Member and The Miles Group to analyze the latest trends in board diversity, leadership structure, and director backgrounds.

“As the regulatory environment evolves and companies’ business strategies change, so does the expertise required to serve on a board of directors,” said Aaron Boyd, Equilar’s Director of Governance Research. “Building and maintaining a highly effective board is critical to ensure that boards remain vigilant, are effective in guiding strategic discussions, and ultimately steer their companies toward success.”

In its S&P 1500 Board Profile - Composition & Recruiting Trends Report, Equilar found that the prevalence of the combined chair and CEO role has decreased steadily throughout the S&P 1500. The largest decrease in prevalence was in the mid-cap, decreasing from 54.5% in 2008 to 43.4% in 2012. With respect to director backgrounds, CEO experience is still most desirable for new board members. The prevalence of directors who have CEO experience is 14.3% and 14.4% in the large-cap and mid-cap, respectively.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Equilar and provide an insider’s perspective for this report,” said TK Kerstetter, Chairman, NYSE Governance Services, Corporate Board Member. “With increased public scrutiny from shareholder and governance activists, boards should perform a composition assessment to ensure they have the optimal mix of skills and experience to deliver the greatest value to the shareholders they represent.”

“As highlighted in this comprehensive report, progress has been made in regard to board diversity and board leadership in the best interest of shareholders,” shared Stephen Miles, Founder and CEO of The Miles Group. “We have partnered with Equilar to conduct a comprehensive analysis of board structure to provide companies and their shareholders insight into how board composition trends are changing and evolving. We are proud to contribute to such valuable research.”

About Equilar

Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., Equilar is the leading provider of executive compensation data and governance tools for corporations, nonprofits, consulting firms, institutional investors, and the media. As the trusted data and executive solutions provider to 70% of the Fortune 500, Equilar helps companies accurately benchmark and track executive and board compensation, pay for performance results, and compensation practices. In addition, Equilar offers a leading business and event networking solution focused on serving executives and board members. Equilar’s research is cited regularly by Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other leading media outlets.