Fidelio Board Breakfast – ‘A Seat at the Table for the Communications Director?’, 28 June 2016

Within the FTSE 100, under 50% of Corporate Affairs/Communications Directors have a formal seat on the Executive Committee and this is strongly weighted towards larger companies. Furthermore, Corporate Affairs remains an unusual background for a Board Director. Do Communications Directors need a seat at the top table? 

We were delighted to be joined by Matthew Kirk, Group External Affairs Director, Vodafone, who was ideally positioned to help us answer this question.

Drawing on Matthew’s insight on the value of Corporate Affairs/External Relations at the Top Table, the debate centered on:

• Does the Corporate Affairs/Communications Director need a formal seat on the Executive Committee to get the job done?
• Do we need more Corporate Affairs/Communications expertise in the Boardroom?

As a Board Development and Executive Search consultancy, Fidelio is focused on roles critical for shareholders and stakeholders at Board and Executive level.  As such, Fidelio’s Communications Executive Search practice focusses on the Head of Corporate Affairs/Head of Communications and their Direct Reports.

The breakfast was by invitation only and was attended by Corporate Affairs/Communications Directors from the UK and internationally, as well as Board Directors.

The Board Breakfast took place on Tuesday 28th June at 8.00 am at Villandry St James’s, 12 Waterloo Place, SW1Y 4AU.