DAX 40 Supervisory Boards Study 2023 – Excerpt

Changes in the DAX 40 and MDAX since last year's study

In the DAX 40: This year, Rheinmetall replaced Fresenius Medical Care, Commerzbank replaced the (delisted) Linde Group. In Q3, 2022, Siemens Energy replaced HelloFresh and Porsche AG replaced Puma in Q4, 2022.

DAX 40: Newly elected shareholder representatives

17 women were elected to DAX 40 supervisory bodies for the first time at the most recent Annual General Meetings. Ten are German nationals.

DAX 30/40: How the proportion of female shareholder representatives has evolved

The proportion of women increased by 2.7 percentage points to 37.8% (shareholder representatives only). This is the highest increase since 2015. For the first time, more than 50% of the newly elected shareholder representatives were women. In the same period, 11 women left (32%) – also a high. 

Dax 40: Gender representation in chair positions and committees

One step forward and three steps back – there are currently two women at the top. To have a woman chair on the supervisory board, she would either have to represent anchor shareholders or be the longest-serving member of the board.

_{*Incl. 12 shareholder representatives; all eleven women are employee representatives; U. Radeke-Pietsch relegated with HelloFresh}

^{** Dates prior to the 2023 Annual General Meetings; Without employee representatives}

DAX 40: Share of women* shareholder representatives and female employee representation per company

Hannover Re and Zalando again lead in terms of female representation. Six boards have 50% or more women (PY: seven). Eleven companies "only" meet the relevant requirement. Porsche SE is yet to reach 30% representation (PY: three boards), legally required for parity co-determined companies, which is not the case for Porsche SE. Despite the decrease in the employee representative bodies, the overall proportion of women increased by 1.2 percentage points to 38.3%.

^{* Incl. changes in employee representations after the Annual General Meetings / mid-May 2023}

International comparison: female supervisory board representation (incl. employee representation, where appropriate)

DAX 40 and SMI show moderate growth this year and thus fall behind in international comparison. Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Denmark in particular are making strong gains in the proportion of women. More than half of the peer group has 40% or more women on supervisory bodies.

^{Data sources: Germany, Switzerland: own analysis; other countries: European Institute for Gender Equality (eige.europa.eu).}

DAX 40: Share of foreign shareholder representatives by region

The new DAX 40 entrants had a significantly lower foreign representation than the exiting companies. Thus, the proportion of supervisory board members with a German passport is rising slightly again. 59% of the new women are from Germany, compared with 36% of the men - an unusually low proportion.

Development of networking of DAX 30/40 companies

Networking by current DAX 40 top managers via mandates in several DAX 40 supervisory bodies has risen to a new high. The main driver of the increase is the inclusion of Siemens Energy and Porsche AG to the index.

^{* Incl. four persons sitting on the Supervisory Board of one DAX 40 company and the Shareholder Committee of another DAX 40 company}

"Micro-linkages" due to spin-offs in the DAX 40

Almost 60% of the shareholder representatives of the six DAX 40 spin-offs are representatives of anchor shareholders. For the remaining companies, the figure is only 12%.

Key topics for supervisory work in 2022

According to the annual reports, not surprisingly, the Ukraine war and sustainability were often on the agenda. In addition, M&A activity, supply chain bottlenecks, digitalization, cybersecurity and litigation were frequently cited.

Anchoring ESG in executive board compensation

Virtually all companies have linked their executive board compensation to ESG metrics. However, the proportion of the compensation linkage varies as much as the number and quality of the actual KPIs.

The study authors

Jens-Thomas Pietralla leads the firm's Board & CEO Advisory Partners in Europe and serves as Global Head of the Industrial & Natural Resources Sector. In this capacity, he leads the firm's business with clients in aerospace & defense, automotive, capital and electrical goods, chemicals, energy, and industrial services. Jens-Thomas helps companies build superior boards and advises his clients on leadership matters, succession planning, and strategy. Recent work includes searches for a number of CEO, CFO, and other CxO positions, as well as assignments for chairmen and non-executive directors at listed and private equity-owned companies around the globe.

Dr. Thomas Tomkos leads German efforts for the Board & CEO Advisory Partners as well as the European CFO Practice. He is also involved in coordinating the firm's European family-owned companies activities and the European Aviation, Aerospace and Defense Practice. Thomas previously headed the firm's German operations and helped position Russell Reynolds Associates as a top leadership advisory firm in the country. He works closely with clients from various industries to recruit candidates for roles on executive, supervisory and advisory boards. Thomas specializes in a number of industrial areas, including the energy industry and renewable energies, transportation and infrastructure. He also works on management and executive audits and assessments and focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of supervisory and advisory boards. He is based in Hamburg.