How Innovators are invading the Boardroom

Picture the typical Boardroom, its inhabitants, and the discussions that take place. Who are those discussions typically led by? Who has the loudest voice in the room? Who gets their way? Who is turned to for input on the most important decisions?

The reality is that each Board is different, but the key functions I would expect you to think of when considering the leading voices would be:

·       Operations - “Nothing happens without us”

·       Commercial -  “ We have no business without us”

·       Finance – “We have no money without us”

It is also true to say that the vast majority of CEO’s (over 80% cumulatively) “cut their teeth” in one of the functions above.

The Chief R&D Officer, or more commonly in our market the Chief Scientific Officer, has always had a voice, but predominantly owing to their superior academic intellect, rather than their ability to really drive strategy.

A Forbes 2019 study* showed that merely 17% of listed company CEO’s hailed from an R&D background, but as we are seeing increasingly data driven decision making, and companies seeking to grow through innovation than rationalisation, we feel that the tide is turning.

RMG has recently been involved in recruiting key scientific and technical professionals into Life Science Boards over the course of 2021 and we have seen first hand their worth, the solutions and ideas they can find (often with the support of Sub Board “Development Boards” – think SAGE sitting below Sir Patrick Vallance) where others see challenges and dead-ends.

It is often asserted that R&D Board members offer plenty by way of ideas, but little by way of firm decision making when it matters, it’s evident from the strong scientific advice and guidance the government has received that this simply isn’t the case. In some industries such as automotive for example, technical leaders have always had a strong decision making authority, their work is often the “value of the company” – We are seeing other industries now following this approach.

The lab bench to the Boardroom is a long and challenging path, but given our experience of late, the lab bench, to the boardroom, to the number one spot will soon be moving beyond this 17% mark and we welcome this change.

*https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2019/10/12/new-study-on-ceos-is-marketing-finance-operations-or-engineering-the-best-path-to-the-c-suite/?sh=15c019375e07