LCDA Corporate Governance Snapshot: Latest Trends
New Report Launched
The Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), the leading national organization advancing Latino representation on corporate boards, in fall 2021, launched a first-of-its-kind report to list all Fortune 1000 (F1000) companies with and without Latinos on their boards. The 2021 Latino Board Monitor, revealed a lack of US Latino representation on the largest company boards in the country. US Latinos are the second largest US population group totaling 62.1 million, but have the widest representation gap to close in the boardroom. Latino directors are missing on 47% of Fortune 100 boards, while the Fortune 1000 fares worse with 69% of companies lacking a US Latino perspective. The Latino Board Monitor is released annually as part of the L'ATTITUDE business conference.
LCDA's review found that 53 Fortune 100 companies have US Latino boardroom representation, indicating that a majority of the nation's largest corporations value a US Latino perspective in the boardroom. Amazon, UnitedHealth Group, Berkshire Hathaway, AmerisourceBergen, and Alphabet Inc. top the list of 47 Fortune 100 companies without US Latinos on the board.
The report also reveals that state-by-state, the gap is even wider. California, Texas, and New York, respectively, have the largest number of Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in their state and some of the largest Latino populations in the country, but the great majority of companies in each state lack US Latinos on their boards.
The 2021 findings confirm Latinos have been left out of Fortune 1000 boardrooms for decades. As a public resource, LCDA provides, The Latino Board Tracker, a searchable database of F1000 companies by state and sector.
LCDA Supports Nasdaq Diversity Rule
In early 2021, LCDA submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in support of new Nasdaq rules requiring diversity disclosures by companies that list shares on its exchanges. Noting that market research has demonstrated the correlation between board diversity and corporate financial performance. Corporate boards remain agile when they reflect the increasingly diverse marketplace and workforce. Latino market share is growing at an astounding rate, 70% faster than the US general population. Companies that do not capitalize on this growth are losing market share.
LCDA Leads with Talent & Growing the Supply
LCDA is working to change the misperception that Latino business leaders are hard to find. Despite a strong qualified pool, Latinos have long been systematically bypassed. This is unacceptable in 21st Century America. There's ample Latino board talent with extensive business experience from all industries.
As part of its commitment to prepare and grow the supply of Latino board talent, the Latino Corporate Directors Education Foundation (LCDEF), BoardReady Institute (BRI) recently welcomed its largest cohort to date - comprised of 65 aspiring directors to participate in premier BRI programming.
Hailed as a game changer, the LCDEF BRI is the first comprehensive board readiness program to surface, prepare, and position Latino senior executives for corporate board service. Participants are highly credentialed individuals, including SVP or C-level executives from various industries and functional expertise, such as P&L and international portfolio leaders. They are selected after a rigorous selection process and BRI participants are enrolled as Executive Members of LCDA.
BRI is supported by a leading team of faculty and curriculum partners, including KPMG, Boardspan, Diligent, Equilar, search firms, private equity/venture capital companies, and LCDA's seasoned Director Members, among many others. This growing pool of partners and subject matter experts assist candidates on their journey to and in the boardroom.
In partnership with Goldman Sachs, which will host our in-person sessions at their New York City headquarters, LCDA is launching the annual SPRING LCDEF BoardReady Institute (BRI) to keep pace with our growing membership and celebrate the growth of this signature program with the theme, Building Community. All LCDA members and partners are invited to join.