How to join a company board of directors? – Young Africa

2023-07-28 17:40:57

How can you take on more responsibilities when you are already at the top of the hierarchy? Leaders have the answer: sit on boards of directors. A strategic position that engages both his professional responsibility and his personal reputation, the director is a strong link in the governance of a company. The position allows managers to discover new sectors and analyze new markets.

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Sitting as a company director is often synonymous with proven professional experience. For example, in 2017, the average age of the boards of directors of companies in the Cac 40 was 58.8 years.

Responsibility

“A position on the board of directors is interesting because it gives seniority to a profile. But it should not be overlooked that he engages the legal responsibility of the administrator who must ensure that the rules of ethics are respected by the management of the company and that he represents the shareholders”, recalls Viviane de Beaufort, professor in business law at Essec, and specialized in issues of diversity in the world of work.

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Before getting started, do not hesitate to contact managers and administrators directly so that they can explain the ins and outs of this responsibility. It is also an opportunity to create a network and talk regarding it around you.

Know

If you want to run for a position on the board of directors, the first thing is to make it known. “I always require women who participate in my program to update their LinkedIn profile by clearly specifying in their summary that they are looking for a mandate”, underlines the professor.

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She also advises getting known to headhunting firms and finding of the mentors who allow you to meet people and advise you on applications and preparing for interviews.

Contact the right people

“In this type of social network, we are still in the cooptation system. But it is not useless to go ahead of the needs by making oneself known to the general secretaries of the boards of directors. They are the ones who are in charge of renewing terms of office,” says Viviane de Beaufort.

The CV of an administrator has nothing to do with that of a candidate for a lambda position. We will be less interested in your professional experience than in your ability to think up a strategy: “We want to know if you are interested in the company and if you know its culture, to know what you like regarding its strategy and that you can bring. You must also prove that it is cross-cutting,” sums up the professor.

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Finally, if you think you are still too young to join the board of directors of a large company, the choice of smaller and more flexible structures such as associations, NGOs or start-ups is always possible.

* This article originally appeared in Young Africa Employment section the 17 July 2018.

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