09-07-2025
Young directors face fight to get on board at London-listed firms
London's biggest listed companies are hiring more women on to their boards but have been criticised for their reluctance to appoint younger directors.
Of the 305 new directors hired by FTSE 350 companies last year, only 12, or 3.9 per cent, were under 45, according to research from Heidrick & Struggles, the executive headhunter, which called on businesses to 'bring in more fresh faces'.
'Boards should reflect the world their businesses operate in, and this can be achieved through a broader mix of people and experience,' Kit Bingham, head of UK board practice at Heidrick & Struggles, said.
• 'Wrong lanes' hold up boardroom progress for women and minorities
More than half, 57 per cent, of those joining the board of a FTSE 350 company last year were retired and the average age of new appointees increased to 58, the highest in six years.
Heidrick & Struggles' research showed that London-listed companies 'remain slower to look to younger appointees' when compared with other countries. In Ireland, for example, 21 per cent of board directors hired by Dublin-listed businesses were younger than 45. In Germany the proportion was 8.2 per cent and it was 5.4 per cent in France.
'Times are tough and have been for a few years, so what I think we're seeing is a default to experience,' Bingham said. 'Equally, at a time when companies are trying to keep costs down, chairs are very careful to keep the board lean and don't want to expand the board just to give different individuals their first taste of board life.'
He added: 'It is important that boards hear from a whole range of different voices; how different generations are thinking, acting and buying.'
UK companies are, however, faring better when it comes to recruiting more female board directors. Half of last year's appointees on the FTSE 350 were women, compared with just 36 per cent of Fortune 500 companies in the US and 46 per cent in Germany.
Heidrick & Struggles said there had now been 'five years of strong gender balance', even if last year's percentage was down on the high of 58 per cent set in 2022.
The research shows that 21 per cent of new UK directors last year identified as non-white. The Parker Review suggests that FTSE 350 boards should have at least one director from an ethnic-minority background, although Bingham cautioned against adopting a 'one and done philosophy'.
