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Meetings and evaluation

2023 Belgium Spencer Stuart Board Index

2023 Snapshot

 8.5

the average number of board meetings

 96 %

of companies undergoing a full board evaluation

Meetings

The average number of meetings convened per year is 8.5. The Bel 20 companies held more (nine) meetings on average than the Bel Mid (eight). The number of meetings across both indices ranged from two to 20 per company with fewer companies holding four to five meetings per year and more companies holding eight to nine or 12 or more meetings per year. The most common annual frequency range recorded among Belgian Boards remains between six and nine.

Board evaluation

The Belgian Corporate Governance Code recommends that companies conduct a board evaluation every two or three years. This can be carried out internally or by using an external facilitator.

96% of Belgian companies carried out a full board assessment, marginally more than in 2022 (95%). Of those, only 18% of companies used an external firm. Among Bel 20 companies, 25% used an external firm, 65% conducted a review internally, and 10% did not carry out an evaluation. Among the Bel Mid companies, 14% used a third party and 86% conducted a review internally.