New directors
104 directors — all of them NEDs — were appointed across the top 25 company boards in each respective market in the period covered by this report (1 June 2022 to 31 May 2023). New appointees as a percentage of all directors fell slightly from 16% last year to 14%, partly due to foreign acquisitions.
|
All |
Denmark |
Finland |
Norway |
Sweden |
| New directors |
14% |
10% |
20% |
15% |
10% |
| Of which are female |
44% |
35% |
45% |
32% |
65% |
| Of which are foreign |
36% |
41% |
29% |
36% |
45% |
Boards in Finland had the largest proportion of new NEDs at 20%, followed by Norwegian boards (15%), Danish boards (10%), and Swedish boards (10%). A significant proportion of new NEDs across the region was composed of either women and/or non-nationals: 44% of new non-executives were women, and 36% were non-nationals.
Sweden recorded both the highest proportion of female new NEDs (65%, or 13) and the highest proportion of foreign new NEDs (45%, or nine).
33% of new non-executives had portfolio careers, and 67% are current executives.
New directors in the Nordics have on average 0.6 external board commitments, notably down from the 1.8 recorded in 2022. New directors appointed to Finnish boards are again the busiest, with 0.7 additional boards on average, down from the 2.1 average seen last year.
The average age of all new non-executives is 56 years old, three years older than the new joiners’ average of 53 in 2022. The average age of all non-executives is 59 (from 58 in 2022).
|
Age |
External boards |
Portfolio |
Current executives |
| All Non-executives |
59.0 |
0.9 |
47% |
53% |
| New non-executives |
55.7 |
0.6 |
33% |
67% |
Four new chairs in our board sample were appointed this year. They are: Jens Petter Olsen at Telenor, Ola Rollén at Hexagon, Vikas Parekh (co-chair) at Autostore, and Paul Ahlsen at Akelius Residential.
Consistent with the wider group, most new directors have an industrial background (39%). A financial services background is the next most commonly represented sector (29%), followed by consumer (11%), and technology, media, telecoms & software (also 11%).
Amongst newly appointed directors, Group CEO experience is most common (40%). General management is the next most common (39% of all new non-executives). CFOs (14%) and other C-Suite (6%) experiences are also seen.
First-time directors
31% of new non-executives are sitting on their first listed board, a significant drop from the 41% across the region recorded last year.
47% (15) of non-executives appointed to a public board for the first time are women. In Sweden, females make up 89% (8) of first-time non-executives — the highest share in the region. This is followed by Denmark (40%, two) and Finland (38%, five). Norway did not appoint any first-time female directors.
Gender of first-time directors
50% (16) of directors appointed to a public board for the first time are foreign, down from the 61% recorded for 2022. In Sweden, 67% (six) of first-time non-executives are foreign — the highest share in the region — followed by Finland (46%, six), and Denmark and Norway (both 40%, two each).
Nationality of first-time directors
84% of first-time directors hold executive positions; only 16% have portfolio careers.
At 41%, an industrial background is most common amongst this year’s cohort of first-time directors, and reflects the sector background of the wider group. The second most common background is financial services (28%).
The average age of first-time non-executives is 53.7 years. There is a one-and-a-half-year difference between women (53) and men (54.4).
Board size
The average board size in the Nordics, including employee representatives, is 9.5, on a par with last year. If employee representatives are excluded, average board size is 7.6.
Size of boards in Nordic companies (including ER)
|
All |
Denmark |
Finland |
Norway |
Sweden |
| Average |
9.5 |
9.6 |
8.8 |
8.9 |
10.6 |
| Min |
5 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
| Max |
17 |
14 |
15 |
12 |
17 |
Size of boards in Nordic companies (excluding ER)
|
All |
Denmark |
Finland |
Norway |
Sweden |
| Average |
7.6 |
6.8 |
8.4 |
6.5 |
8.6 |
| Min |
4 |
5 |
6 |
4,0 |
5,0 |
| Max |
11 |
9 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
The highest share of employee representation is seen in Denmark; in Finland the model is less common. When employee representatives are excluded, the largest boards are found in Sweden (8.6 on average).
Independence
Levels of independence among non-executives remains relatively stable in the Nordics. 79% of non-executives are considered independent across the region, up slightly from the 77% seen in 2022.
The average independence of boards is highest in Finland, where 89% of directors are independent. In both Denmark and Norway, 78% of directors are independent. Sweden records the lowest proportion of independent directors, at 70%.
15 CEOs sit on boards in the region, all of them in Sweden.
Length of service
The average tenure of non-executives (excluding chairs) in the region is 4.8 years. Finland records the shortest average tenure (3.9), and Sweden the longest (6.1).
Among chairs, the average board tenure in the region is 7.2 years. Sweden has the longest chair tenure, at 8.8 years on average, and Norway has the shortest average tenure at 6.1 years. Chairs in Denmark and Finland have tenures of 7.4 years and 6.4 years, respectively.
Age of directors
The average age of non-executive directors (excluding chairs) is 58.4 years. Non-executives in Norway remain the youngest in the region with an average age of 57. Sweden records the highest average age among its NEDs of 59.8.
In terms of chairs, the average age is 61.9 years old, a slight decrease from 62.8 in 2022. Denmark has the youngest chairs (60.2) and Finland has the oldest (62.8), though the difference is minimal.
As expected, newly appointed non-executives are the youngest across all countries, the average age being 55.7 years old. Sweden has the youngest new directors (52.9) while Norway has the oldest (56.7).
Women are younger than men across all board roles in the region. Female non-executives (excluding chairs) are on average 57 years old, while their male counterparts are on average 59.8 years old. New female non-executives are on average 54.6 years old, while new male non-executives are 56.6 years old. Among new directors, the age difference between men and women has decreased, from three years in 2022 to two years in 2023.
Nordic Semiconductor has the youngest board, with four board members under 50 and average age of 49 for all board members. The chair, Birger Steen, is 57. All non-executives, including the chair, are current executives.
Executive directors
Executives occupy very few board seats — their share currently stands at 2%. The combined role of chair and CEO is not common practice in the region and is not seen in our sample.
Executive directors are most prevalent on boards Sweden. 17 executives sit on Swedish boards, representing 85% of executives in our sample across the Nordics. Three executive directors sit on Finnish boards; there are none in Denmark.
In Finland, an executive vice chair has served on the board of KONE since 2021; he is a majority shareholder and family member.
16 of the 17 executives in Sweden are CEOs; the other is the executive chair of Evolution.