The full picture of the composition of the Boards of Directors of companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, based on diversity and inclusion criteria, is presented by The RSM Board Diversity Survey, which is conducted for the fourth consecutive year by RSM Greece.

The conclusions of this year’s survey, the fourth in a row, demonstrably and emphatically demonstrate the degree of adoption of best practices in terms of diversity by Boards of Directors, according to what Mr. Vassilis Petinis, Managing Partner of RSM Greece, said.

“As shown by the results of our research, although significant improvement has been recorded over the last four years, contractual coverage of the legislator’s requirements is only the first step towards adopting a culture of meaningful inclusion”

“A substantial effort is required”, he points out and adds that “it should start from the top, with the members of the Board of Directors encouraging the rest of the organization to follow their example”.

“In this context, the role of consulting firms can be pivotal, both in terms of communicating the value of diversity and inclusion and in effectively adopting practices and processes in this direction,” he concludes.

The Key Conclusions

Composition and number of Board of Directors members

According to the results of “The RSM Board Diversity Survey”, in a total of 142 listed companies included in the sample, the number of members amounts to 1,195. Of these, 390 are executive members, 351 non-executive members and 454 are independent non-executive members, with the respective percentages being 33.0%, 29.0% and 38.0%.

Differentiation by gender

In terms of gender distribution, the Boards of Directors of listed companies consist of 869 men and 326 women, representing 73% and 27% of the total number of members respectively, with a ratio of women to men of 1:4. It is worth noting that this percentage covers the requirement of the Greek Corporate Governance Code (EKED), which stipulates that the selection criteria for the members of the Board of Directors must include sufficient representation of both sexes, with a percentage that cannot be less than 25% of the total number of members.

From 2021, when the survey began before the implementation of Law 4706/2020, until 2024, the representation of the sexes on the Boards of Directors of Greek listed companies has marked a significant increase of 10 percentage points, with the presence of women steadily increasing ( 2021: 17%, 2024: 27%).

In terms of individual sectors, the highest percentages of female representation are recorded in the energy, telecommunications and technology sectors, where there is now almost one woman for every two men, followed by the industrial products and banking sectors.

Qualifications of senior members

In contrast, there is a significant lag at the top of the business hierarchy, with women holding only 64 senior member positions, compared to 366 held by men. Accordingly, only 12 positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and 8 positions of CEO are filled by women.

Concentration of positions on the same person

At the same time, a number of persons appear on more than one Board of Directors, as 8 persons simultaneously occupy positions as members of the Board of Directors in 4 different Boards of Directors, 25 persons simultaneously occupy positions as members of the Board of Directors in 3 different Boards of Directors, 79 persons simultaneously occupy positions as members of the Board of Directors in 2 different Boards of Directors, while 922 persons cover one position.

At the same time, in several cases of listed companies there is a concentration of positions and responsibilities in a single person, which is an inhibiting factor for diversity on Boards of Directors. Specifically, in 27 companies, the positions of President and CEO are held by the same person, while in 15 companies, the CEO is also Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Family relationships between members

Almost one in two listed companies (44%) is “family” in nature, with at least two members related to the main shareholder participating in their Boards of Directors.

The highest percentages are recorded in the health, consumer products, food and raw materials industries with a ratio of approximately 1 in 3 Board members who are connected to the main shareholder.

Differentiation as to the nationality of the members
Regarding the nationality of the members, 10% of the total Board of Directors (107 members) come from countries outside of Greece. Of these, 85 are men and 29 are women. Most members of non-Greek nationality appear in the Industrial Products & Services and Banks sector, while the fewest in the Utilities sector.

Differentiation as to the age of the members

Another important finding of the survey concerns the age of the members of the Board of Directors, as only 0.1% are younger than 30 years old and 22% younger than 50 years old. Accordingly, 34% are between 51 and 60 years old, 32% between 61 and 70 years old and 16% over 70 years old. An interesting element is the fact that the oldest member who participates in a Board of Directors is 94 years old, male and holds the role of Member. At the same time, the youngest member is 26 years old, male, and holds a Member role. Both persons do not participate in Boards of Directors with a “family” character.

Independence of members

Regarding the existence of independent non-executive members, the vast majority of companies meet the relevant criterion, while 44 companies have two independent non-executive members and 52 companies have at least three non-executive members each. In detail, the insurance and financial services sector has the largest percentage of independent non-executive members, followed by the banking and trading sectors. On the contrary, the lowest percentage of concentration of independent non-executive members is recorded in the technology sector, i.e. 25%.

Academic level of members

In relation to the level of education, according to the research, it appears that 42% of the members of the Board of Directors have at least a bachelor’s degree, 47% of the members have a master’s degree and 11% of them have a doctoral degree.

Mix of skills and knowledge of members

An important finding is the fact that only 3% of the members of the Boards of Directors have expertise in HR and ESG, which negatively affects corporate governance, at a time when finding and managing human resources and managing sustainability issues are a priority for companies businesses.

Experience in a different industry

On the contrary, the diversity in terms of work experience is widened, with the members of the Board of Directors possessing sufficient knowledge of the company’s operating model and industry, as well as experience in different industries. In absolute numbers, out of the 1,195 total members, 867 have experience in a different industry from the company they work for.

The research includes the in-depth analysis and evaluation of the formation of the Boards of Directors of the Greek listed companies, based on 10 evaluation categories, focusing on highlighting the best practices for the establishment and effective operation of the Boards of Directors, utilizing inclusion as a key guideline for obtaining effective strategic decisions.

At the same time, in the context of the research, a series of particularly important conclusions are drawn which concern the structure of the Boards of Directors and their Committees, highlighting the progress that has been achieved towards the adoption of diversity and inclusion best practices.