The New York Stock Exchange today announced the launch of the NYSE Board Advisory Council, which will proactively address the critical need for inclusive leadership by connecting diverse candidates with companies seeking new directors.
The Council is comprised of 13 Founding Member CEOs from some of the world’s largest and most well-established brands, including Avon’s CEO Jan Zijderveld.
“Diversity is critical to success—it opens up creative thinking, brings fresh perspectives and ignites new ways of working,” said Zijderveld. “Diversity improves business performance. I’m delighted to be part of the NYSE Board Advisory Council. Avon has a strong track record in creating opportunities for women’s economic participation, but there is always more to do, and I look forward to working with the other board members to continue to shift the dial on diversity in all its forms. This is really important work as we seek to go even further in opening up more opportunities for more talent, ultimately helping more businesses to thrive.”
“It’s incredible to see CEOs of our NYSE community come together on this mission and join the NYSE Board Advisory Council,” said NYSE Executive Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of the Council, Betty Liu. “Board recruiting can be a difficult, time-consuming activity. At the same time, getting placed on a board can seem like a mysterious process where you need to know the right people. With the formation of this Council, we hope to smooth and accelerate this process for our NYSE community, while at the same time directly addressing the need for more diversity on corporate boards. I believe we’ll make a meaningful impact on creating a more inclusive future.”
Founding members of the NYSE Board Advisory Council are:
- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, Jan Zijderveld
- American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) President and Chief Executive Officer, Susan Story
- Care.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRCM) Founder, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer, Sheila Lirio Marcelo
- The Container Store Group, Inc. (NYSE: TCS) Chief Executive Officer, Melissa Reiff
- The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, James Quincey
- The Hertz Corporation (NYSE: HTZ), President and Chief Executive Officer, Kathryn Marinello
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alex Gorsky
- Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth C. Frazier
- MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Fernandez
- Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, David Taylor
- Rent the Runway Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Hyman
- Slack Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: WORK) Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Stewart Butterfield
- State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), President and Chief Executive Officer, Cyrus Taraporevala
- Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Jeff Lawson
The Council will be led by former Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Seneca Women partner, Sharon Bowen and Duriya Farooqui, both Board Members of Intercontinental Exchange, as well as Liu.
