Resources

Board intelligence applies data on C-level executives and board members to inform various strategic and tactical business operations. Board intelligence is the foundation for high-level decision-making for board of directors assessment and recruiting, and is also the centerpiece for corporate governance evaluations and business development research and outreach.

The use of board intelligence takes on multiple forms. Boards of directors themselves utilize data and technology to uncover connections and support recruiting efforts, whether that is taking advantage of past relationships to bring on new board members or using information as background references when evaluating potential new members.

Boards, executive management and investors alike use board intelligence to evaluate corporate governance. Investors, in particular, turn to board intelligence to evaluate board composition at their portfolio companies—experience, approval ratings, diversity, etc.—in relation to company performance. By analyzing their portfolio companies’ boards and executive management side-by-side, and applying that information to those companies’ peers, investors use data and analytics to inform their voting decisions.

Finally, sales leaders rely on board intelligence to determine the most straightforward pathway to the top of an organization. In order to reach the right individuals and win new business, data analysis allows them to quickly and accurately identify board members and executive management they know or have worked with through other connections in order to streamline their outreach efforts.

Learn more about Equilar BoardEdge and how constituents across corporate America apply board intelligence.

Relationship capital represents the total value of an individual’s professional connections. In the context of board intelligence, relationship capital identifies the other executive management and board directors with whom an individual has been professionally connected over the course of his or her career. By analyzing and understanding their own relationship capital as well as correlations between others’, individuals and companies are able to develop better strategies to achieve targeted business outcomes.

Analysis of relationship capital applies in a variety of scenarios relative to the boardroom. Board members and executives may utilize data that clearly outlines their professional connections to aid in recruiting and references, a key component for talent development and management at the highest levels of corporate society.

Meanwhile, investors may use connections data to draw conclusions about a company’s strategic initiatives and recognize patterns in decision-making processes across their portfolio. And sales and marketing leadership looking for a window into the boardroom evaluate relationship capital to find the right people to target at a given prospect or client company and get their feet in the door to win business.

Learn more about executive and board connections and how they influence the top levels of corporate America.

An executive briefing is a confluence of high-level, key decision makers at a prospect or client company with lead members of the host company’s product, sales and/or executive leadership teams.

Many large corporations host executives briefing centers and employ individuals in house to coordinate executive briefings. These executive briefings connect their leadership and product teams to high-profile professionals such as other top-level executives and board members in their fields. Highly popular in the technology industry and other consumer product-centric verticals, these physical locations allow for direct engagement and open dialogue with key decision makers.

In order to coordinate and conduct executive briefings, companies utilize data and analysis to connect with the right people at their client and prospect companies. Furthermore, in advance of such meetings, involved parties will compile briefing books specific to their guests. For this purpose, board intelligence and relationship capital data proves useful to discover connections and colleagues in order to administer the most impactful meetings.

Learn more about Equilar BoardEdge for business development and how companies are using data to inform their sales practices.

A BoardMap^TM is a resource cultivated by the Equilar BoardEdge database that shows how corporations and corporate boards are connected to one another. Companies will often use such a connections map to identify how much experience a board has and how particular directors are connected to other public companies.

Every publicly traded company has a connections map and there are two key components for each company’s map. First, designated points on the map highlight the names of every board member and their respective titles at the company. Second, each point indicating a board member’s information is linked to the logos of companies in which that particular director may also be sitting on the board. The map is a visual display of how companies are linked to together through mutual directors.

The BoardMap is used by many organizations for strategic business opportunities. For example, a sales team may utilize a connections map by leveraging its relationship with a director at their company for a warm introduction to a prospect at a company in which that director also serves on the board.

Executive and board data is a compilation of key demographic and experiential information on C-level executives and board members at public companies, and can be found in companies’ SEC filings. This data includes information such as current company or board, tenure, previous boards served, connections to other board members, executives and companies, gender, race, age, and education. In addition, this data includes compensation and other financial information related to these individuals’ performance as disclosed in public filings.

Companies leverage this data for various purposes. HR, legal and other departments use the information for benchmarking pay, corporate performance and recruiting. The data may often be used by a board of directors when searching for a new director who meets certain experiential or demographic criteria. Many companies may also leverage this data to identify a credible referral source. For example, a professional at a company may reach out to one of its board members—who previously worked with an executive at another company with whom that professional is seeking a business partnership—for a warm introduction.