PE & EQUITY FIRMS – Managing Director

Search firms fill the majority of large-cap board seats. If you're not in their database — or worse, if your LinkedIn doesn't signal governance intent — you don't exist.

A sitting NED on three S&P 500 boards explains the unwritten rules of the selection process — including the two questions most candidates never ask.

We analysed every new independent director appointment to the S&P 500 in 2025. The findings challenge several assumptions about what nominating committees look for — and reveal a structural shift in how boards are being filled.