LCDEF's BoardReady Institute (BRI): Preparing Latino Leaders for the Boardroom

Latinos on Corporate Boards 

The Latino Corporate Directors Education Foundation (LCDEF), in partnership with its parent association, the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), is increasing the number of US Latinos serving on corporate boards by accelerating the development and placement of highly credentialed Latinos who are aspiring, new, and board-experienced directors from a variety of sectors and professions onto the highest levels of corporate governance.

There is ample Latino talent for the boardroom, as demonstrated by our growing membership which doubled over the last three years. LCDEF welcomed its largest cohort of 70+ LCDA members at its recently held Spring BoardReady Institute (BRI) hosted by Goldman Sachs in New York City. 

The BRI is a comprehensive set of programs designed to prepare and position highly qualified Latino senior executives and national leaders for corporate board service. Our quickly growing membership created the demand for the expansion of BRI, which now offers all LCDA members two concurrent program tracks: the core BRI and the next-level BRINext:

  • The core BRI program is designed to prepare highly credentialed executives and national leaders to begin their journey to the boardroom and be best positioned to serve as a vetted talent pool for corporate board service. The program is targeted at new LCDA aspiring director members who have not completed board-ready programming or new directors who are serving on their first private board (less than 2 years). 

  • BRINext is the next level in programming for members interested in taking a deeper dive in corporate governance education and seeking a strategic understanding of the inner workings of corporate boards. This program is targeted at first-time directors (less than 5 years) and aspiring director members who completed core BRI programming in previous year(s) or a board-readiness program through other sources.

The program’s tailored curriculum is delivered in collaboration with the KPMG Board Leadership Center, the University of California Hastings’ Center for Business Law, LCDA’s seasoned directors, and LCDA’s search firm partners - like Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, and Diversified Search who instruct and coach candidates on their journey to the boardroom. Since then, our list of curriculum partners has grown to include Equilar, Diligent, Spencer Stewart, Goldman Sachs, Carlyle, Above Board, and many others. 

LCDA Member, JC Gonzalez-Mendez, said of our recent Spring BRI programming, “THANK YOU for an outstanding event in New York. The presentations, dialogue, and networking were probably the best I have participated in. Every single topic that was discussed was relevant and well covered. I am proud to be a part of such a professional organization.”

Invaluable to an LCDA board-aspiring members’ success is the support they receive from BRI’s Partners and LCDA’s experienced Director Members who “pay it forward” by mentoring and coaching first-time and aspiring directors during their journey to and in the boardroom.

Programming, preparation, networking, coaching, and peer support all play a role in ensuring that talented, board-ready executives who complete BRI are successful when searching for board opportunities they are passionate about. Last year, 22 former LCDA board aspiring executives landed board seats. Now mid-way through 2022, there have been over 70+ Latino board appointments — LCDA is truly moving the needle for Latino board representation.

While there is no board placement guarantee — when you put talent, preparation and networks together with timing, hard work, and opportunity, you have a winning combination. Learn more at www.latinocorporatedirectors.org.

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