Executive board size
In the tracked DAX 40 companies, the executive boards have between three (at Rheinmetall, RWE) and 17 (Airbus) members. The average size is stable, at six. Executive boards with between four and five members dominate, accounting for 40% of the companies. No executive board in the DAX 40 has fewer than three members.
Executive boards with three members (two companies) and those with six (five companies) or seven (three companies) each account for about 25% companies under review (24% in the 2023 Board Index).
Boards with eight members (eight companies) or nine members (four companies) represent 30% of the companies under review, rising from 11% noted in the 2023 Board Index).
Only one of the surveyed companies has 17 executive members.
Diversity
Women on the executive board
The proportion of women on executive boards has risen steadily during the past six years. Of the 257 executives in the DAX 40, 61 are women, accounting for 25%. This represents a 22% increase from the 53 (20%) female executives (of an overall 259) in our 2022 evaluation.
Women on management boards (%)
|
2012 |
2014 |
2016 |
2018 |
2022 (DAX 40) |
2023 (DAX 40) |
|---|
| DAX 30/DAX 40 |
6% |
7% |
11% |
13% |
20% |
22% |
In light of the planned quota regulations for executive boards of publicly listed companies, improvements are needed. In total, 19 companies have 20% or fewer women in their executive board, indicating a need for progress. One company, Porsche Holding SE, had no female executives during the observation period. Ten companies exceeded the 20% threshold, and five companies surpassed 30%; a further five exceeded 40%. Only one company, Siemens Healthineers, reached a 50% share of women in the executive board.
There is only one female CEO (Merck) in the group of DAX 40 companies, representing 2.5% of the overall CEO population. Other C-suite roles occupied by women are 12 CFOs (30%), four COOs (10%), and 11 CHROs / labour directors (28%). Overall, only a minority of female executives are represented in P&L-centred roles within the DAX 40 executive board committees.
There were 52 new executive appointments in the observation period. Women account for approximately 31% (16) of these new appointments, a substantial rise from the 17% seen five years ago. At least one woman sits on the executive board at about 70% of the DAX 40 companies, another significant increase compared to the DAX 30 cohort five years ago.
At boards of publicly traded and co-determined companies with more than three members, at least one member must be a woman.
Internationality
Consistently, 35% (91) of the DAX 40 executive board members come from abroad, the same proportion reported five years ago. Nine companies have no international member on their executive board. However, this share also demonstrates that there are more international executives than female executives in the DAX 40.
Age and tenure
The average age of the 257 executive board members in the DAX 40 is relatively stable, at around 53. Within this group, 41 executives (16%) are under 50 years old. A larger cohort, of 92 executives (36%), falls within the 50 to 55 age range, and 72 executives (28%) are aged between 56 and 59.
Notably, 44 executives (17%) in the DAX 40 are older than 60. In one company, all executives were over 60 during the year under review. Nineteen of the DAX 40 companies had no executives under 50. The average age of female executives is 52, compared to 55 among their male counterparts.
78% (31) of the companies surveyed publish information regarding age limits; the remaining nine companies (22%) do not.
Executive board members serve an average of 5.6 years, which is comparable to the period noted in our previous study. Among CEO/chairs, the average is 5.7 years.
In DAX companies, average tenure of executive board members is slightly shorter at 5.1 years; the same trend is seen among CEOs/chairs, where average tenure is 4.1 years. These figures are consistent with those noted in our 2023 Board Index.
External non-executive board mandates
Willingness to accept external supervisory board mandates has declined significantly.
Overall, 78% of all executive board members hold no external supervisory board position. Amongst women on the executive board only 35% hold external supervisory boards seats.
This represents a significant decline, most likely a response to rising demands associated with a supervisory mandate, as well as heightened liability. Investors are concerned that active board members may have insufficient time for demanding oversight and advisory roles.