Anne M. Mulcahy was a rarity when, as a Xerox Corp. vice president in 1997, she joined the board of Target Corp. At the time, few executives below the level of chief executive served on other public-company boards. "It was definitely out of vogue," she says.
Not anymore. Ms. Mulcahy is now Xerox's CEO, and two of her lieutenants serve on other boards. In addition, two non-CEOs have joined Xerox's board during her tenure, and she's pushing fellow directors to seek a third when the next vacancy occurs. Tapping such talent "has worked very, very well" for Xerox, she says.
Others seem to agree. Non-CEO executives accounted for 29% of new independent directors on boards of Standard & Poor's 500 concerns, according to an analysis of recent proxy statements by recruiters SpencerStuart. That's up from 18% in 2001. (Both figures include some retirees.) Those ranks will keep growing, predicts Julie Daum, head of the search firm's U.S. board practice. Boards "are looking for different kinds of skills," she says.
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