Path to the Board Room
By Gilbert F. Casellas
Ishare my path to a Fortune 100
company board room with the
caveat that times and the route to
the boardroom has changed and
varies by company and candidate.
His View
When I was elected to the board of Prudential Financial in
1998, Latinos on public company boards barely amounted to
one percent. The boardroom was the near-exclusive domain of
white men, mostly sitting or recently retired chief executive
officers. Their paths to the boardroom tended to result from
relationships with the company’s CEO or sitting directors and
executive search firms were not as involved as they are today.
Although women and people of color were serving on boards,
their numbers constituted single digit percentages of the total
number of board seats.
My election can be traced by my service on a university’s
board of trustees. The trustees board chairman was a retired
Fortune 100 CEO who was sitting on a few public company
boards. He was familiar with my work as a trustee as well as
my prior Cabinet-level government position and recommended
me to Prudential’s board.
Today, the process of board selection is more rigorous and
formal, though the role of relationships still matters. The initial
responsibility lies with a board’s nominations committee. At
Prudential, the Governance and Business Ethics Committee,
which I chair, performs this function. Assuming upcoming
vacancies, we perform an assessment of the skills and experiences
needed to properly oversee the interests of the company.
Generally we review the short- and long-term strategies of the
company to determine what current and future skills and
experience are required of the board in exercising its oversight
function. We then compare those skills to those of the current
directors and potential candidates. With the assistance of an
independent search firm, we identify individuals who have
expertise that would complement and enhance the current
board’s skills and experience. Also, as a part of our shareholder
engagement, we ask our investors’ input regarding director
recommendations. Throughout this process we are intentional
in assuring candidate diversity. The result in Prudential’s case
is a board that is two-thirds diverse with 80 percent of our
independent directors being diverse: 2 African Americans, 2
Latinos, 1 Asian, three women and one openly gay man.
While the selection process for most boards has become
more formalized, what boards seek has remained constant:
qualified, committed, engaged and experienced individuals
with demonstrated records of leadership and achievement to
provide oversight and guidance. Equally critical is being known - in
your profession, in your community, in your industry - for
leadership, achievement, excellence, and expertise. Some
achieve it in high-level government service, others in academia
and nonprofit activities, and most in business. In all cases, the
candidates are high achievers, with records of success at the
highest levels.
Empirical studies continue to demonstrate the positive
correlation between diversity and financial performance, most
especially regarding gender diversity. LATINA Style’s history
of highlighting and celebrating Latinas’ professional successes
has contributed to the inclusion of increasing numbers of Latinas on
boards and those opportunities will continue to arise and the
composition of those boards will continue to change for the better.
Gilbert F. Casellas chairs the Governance and Business
Ethics Committee of the board of directors of Prudential
Financial, Inc.
46 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 24, No. 2, 2018
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