Annual Survey of S&P 500 Boards Notes Trends in Retirement, Governance, Compensation and other Board Practices

January 10, 2017

The recently released Spencer Stuart Board Index presents data on board composition, board practices and director compensation among S&P 500 companies. The 2016 study, among other things, highlighted trends in new director recruitment, independent board leadership, tenure and term limits, mandatory retirement, board evaluations and shareholder engagement. Among the notable takeaways from the study are:

a decline in board turnover;
an increase in first-time directors;
an increase in new female independent directors; and
increased compensation for board members.