Supervisory board mandates

We fill supervisory board mandates for our clients on a sustainable basis, taking into account the current composition of the respective managing bodies.

One of the key strategic building blocks is the Supervisory Board’s composition. It is important to have a mix of independent experts who come from an area of particular relevance to the company or have suitable specialist expertise to offer, as well as board members from other companies of a comparable order of magnitude.

This comparable magnitude is important, as supervisory boards also need the right experience and standing to deal with a successful management board on an equal footing. A candidate who has already managed a large company and who, based on his or her own experience, is familiar with the constraints and decision-making parameters of top management, can grasp the overall situation of the management board to be supervised much more effectively and will be in a position to offer advice. So there is a big difference between appointment to the supervisory board of a DAX30 company versus an appointment to that of a smaller, non-DAX30 stock corporation.

But small and medium-sized enterprises can and should professionalise their supervisory boards as well.

The highest-calibre supervisory board membership will provide an intentional counterpoint to the typically strong entrepreneur. The candidate must have the confidence to disagree with the entrepreneur if it is objectively necessary to do so. Far from the constraints and obligations of large corporations, the candidate also enjoys interesting creative latitude.

The quality requirements for corporate governance have steadily increased in recent years.

The supervisory board must serve as a sparring partner, discussing with corporate management the impacts on business models, any needed adjustments and the indicated strategy. This also leads to a greater division of labour in corporate governance, where typically a small group grapples in-depth with technical subjects. This brings the quality of contributions by a supervisory board member into clear relief. Meeting the quality a supervisory board requires usually leads to a great increase in the investment of time a mandate involves.

This is compounded by the significantly increased liability risks must also be taken into account. Thus, if an active management board member considers taking part in a supervisory board, this will affect his or her reputation. A lawsuit for failure to meet supervisory obligations, for example, can pose a severe impediment to an individual’s professional career.

The complexity of corporate activity will continue to increase significantly.

This makes it increasingly important to provide optimum management of strategic partnerships within the supervisory board.
Suitable personalities must be convinced and attracted to the position. This requires a holistic and comprehensive consultancy approach that ranges from the governing body’s actual situation to strategy and the appointments procedure.

We will assist you with our
specialisation.