More non-family members find place in boardrooms

DOHA: Family businesses in the Gulf region are witnessing an increasing trend of appointing non-family members to the board.  To bring in wealth of experience and ensure objectivity in decision making, sans family-related emotions, many family firms   are accommodating non-executive members in the board,   a corporate governance  expert told The Peninsula yesterday.

“There has been an increasing interest in appointing independent and non-executive directors to the board. I think there is a business case in this growing trend”, Imelda Dunlop, Executive Director, Pearl Initiative said shortly after releasing the Pearl Initiative-Pwc joint study report on GCC family businesses.

The  family firms have realised the fact that  it is vital that Board directors are appointed on an appropriate merit and specific skill set rather than sentiment and family hierarchy. In the changing dynamics of global market, they have realised it is wise to choose a candidate with right mix of skills, she said.

Citing the findings of the study, Imelda said that 55 percent of GCC family firm respondents have non-family board members. Just over half, 54 percent, have non-executive directors who are family members and 42 percent have non-executive directors from outside the family. Fifty-one percent have non-family shareholders and a further 12 percent are likely to offer shares to people outside the family in the next five years.

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