We aim for our Board to have a wide range of backgrounds, skills and experiences. We also value a diversity of outlook, approach and style in our Board members. We believe that a balanced Board is stronger and better equipped to consider matters from a broader perspective, understanding the views of our stakeholders as well as our shareholders and therefore come to decisions that have considered a wider range of issues and perspectives than would be the case in a more homogenous Board.
Diversity is not simply a matter of gender, ethnicity, social or other measurable characteristics. Diversity of outlook and approach is harder to measure than gender or ethnicity but is equally important. A Board needs a range of skills from technical adherence to governance or regulatory matters to understanding the business in which we operate and the needs of our stakeholders. It needs some members with a long corporate memory and others who bring new insights from other fields.
There needs to be both support and challenge on the Board as well as a balance of gender, ethnicity, industry, commercial and international experience. When selecting new members for the Board, we take these considerations into account, as well as professional background. A new Board member needs to fit in with their fellow Board members, but should also provide a new way of looking at things.
At 31 December 2021, following the appointment of Jo Hallas, our Board comprised of 33% female directors and 8% of non-white ethnicity. Following the Annual General Meeting on 13 April 2022, 33% of our Board will be female and 16% non-white ethnicity.
We will continue to appoint our Directors on merit, valuing the unique contribution that they will bring to the Board, regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other diversity measure whilst being mindful of the recommendations contained within the recently launched FTSE Women Leaders Review (which continues the work and success of the Hampton-Alexander and Davies Reviews). Currently, 38% of our Executive Committee are female, one of whom is Anne Francoise Nesmes, our Chief Financial Officer. Post the appointment of Deepak Nath as our Chief Executive Officer on 1 April 2022, the Executive Committee will comprise three members of non-white ethnicity.