One in ten (10%) new directors in 2019 had sustainability experience, illustrating the growing importance of environmental concerns. " Most boards seek executives with previous experience serving on a board, or as CEOs or CFOs of organizations of relevant complexity and scale, however, the number of diverse leaders in these senior roles today is too low, " said Jeff Sanders, vice chairman and co-managing partner, CEO & Board of Directors Practice, Heidrick & Struggles. " To increase diverse representation, boards will need to broaden their networks and criteria for board selection, going beyond the traditional CEO and CFO profiles to consider diverse leaders who have proven experience and leadership capabilities across a wider range of business areas and functions. Companies also can implement forward-thinking succession planning and build a more diverse leadership pipeline for the top leadership positions across the C-suite.