Time to Clean House?

Board Performance in a time of Economic Urgency

Mark Lonergan, November 30th, 2022

In its most recent sur­vey of pub­lic com­pa­ny board direc­tors pub­lished just last month, PwC found over 48% of respon­dents indi­cat­ed that there’s at least one oth­er board direc­tor who they think should resign their board posi­tion. 19% indi­cate that they think two or more fel­low board mem­bers should resign. And these num­bers are up dra­mat­i­cal­ly from ear­li­er surveys.

These num­bers reflect the new econ­o­my and the new chal­lenges to pub­lic com­pa­ny board mem­bers. These chal­lenges include:

  • Stock Price Chal­lenges Dra­mat­ic reduc­tions in pub­lic com­pa­ny stock prices. The Nas­daq has lost almost 40% since Jan­u­ary of this year.
  • Rev­enue Chal­lenges Many cus­tomers are with­draw­ing orders and reduc­ing spending.
  • Lead­er­ship Chal­lenges In Sil­i­con Val­ley, the aver­age tenure for pub­lic com­pa­ny CEOs is over 11 years. CEO replace­ments are on the table.
  • Peo­ple Chal­lenges 98% of Sil­i­con Val­ley CEOs have either done a lay­off or are con­tem­plat­ing lay­offs this year.

Fact is that pub­lic board ser­vice will become more demand­ing as the econ­o­my goes through a reset. Board mem­bers who were suc­cess­ful team mates in good times may not have the skills required to sus­tain and build a com­pa­ny in a reces­sion. It’s some­thing that your own board mem­bers can see.

Is it time to refresh your Sil­i­con Val­ley Board?

Read the PwC’s 2022 Annu­al Cor­po­rate Direc­tors Sur­vey for more insight