Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER ) CEO E. Stanley O’Neal had barely resigned from the General Motors Corp. (GM ) board on Feb. 6 before GM began thinking about recruiting another African American to fill his slot.
Typically, a corporation like GM would look to replace him with another marquee African American name. Someone like Time Warner CEO Richard D. Parsons, who sits on the Citigroup, Estee Lauder, and Time Warner boards. But in an era of stepped-up corporate governance, CEOs are taking on fewer directorships.
That’s prompting companies to broaden their reach beyond the likes of O’Neal and Parsons. As it happens, there’s a large pool of black directors from which to choose. You may not have heard of these folks. But at a time when many markets are fragmenting along ethnic lines, African American directors are increasingly sought-after. According to executive recruiter Spencer Stuart, 162 black directors sit on the boards of the top 200 S&P 500 companies. That’s double the number in 1987, says the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), which promotes board diversity. “A diverse board translates into a more profitable business,” says Patrick G. “Pat” Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp. (AOC ), which has a black man, an Hispanic woman, and an Asian American woman on its board. “There’s no doubt about it.” (more…)
Companies are starting to realize that in a global market place you need to be able to relate to a diverse customer base. Therefore management must reflect that base. You will continue to see a rise in the number of people of colour at the top levels of management. But even better will be seeing a few black owned and operated Fortune 500 companies. We still have a long way to go.