Research suggests Irish company boards are getting more stale, but less male

The latest Board Monitor Europe report from headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles found the number of board appointments to Irish stock market-listed firms fell in the period under review.

Where appointments were made, there has been a renewed focus on more experience, including retired board members, the firm said, in what appears to be bad news for younger people looking to develop their experience.

The report analysed the non-executive board appointments of Irish ISEQ-listed companies between March 2022 and March 2023,

Retired executives accounted for 69pc of Irish appointments, the highest in Europe.

They also overwhelmingly have board level experience already, just 19pc of Irish appointees were first-time non-executive directors.

In Britain, almost half of non-executive director appointments were of people working in a main role in another business.

The Irish numbers appear to bear out criticism the make-up of Irish boards is pale and stale, but suggest it is no longer male.

A heavy focus from shareholders and advocates on diversity and inclusion has helped boost the number of women, who accounted for 56pc of new non-executive board appointments in 2022, though remain an absolute minority among directors.

Focus from shareholders and advocates on diversity and inclusion has helped boost the number of women

Last year’s hires included Carolan Lennon, Salesforce Country Head for Ireland, who joined Flutter as a non-executive director in April.

The former Eir boss was already a director of AIB.

Heidrick & Struggles said the analysis suggests Irish boards proactively sought board members with prior board and executive experience over the past year amid a potentially deteriorating economic outlook.

There is also evidence of boards looking for more traditional skill sets to weather this economic uncertainty, they said. Prior CEO experience topped the table for Irish appointees, at 56pc of total appointments, followed by those with CFO experience at 19pc.

Stafford Bagot, the firm’s Irish head, said: “It’s always interesting to see the trends in Ireland stand out compared to the rest of Europe.

"This year, more than ever, the report suggests that Irish PLCs are notably more cautious, turning to members with proven experience to navigate an increasingly complex and volatile landscape.”