Interested in more careers-related content? Check out our new weekly Work Life newsletter. Sent every Monday afternoon.
After 25 years working in capital markets and global investment banking at Scotiabank in Toronto, Mary Vitug started to think about the next chapter of her career.
One idea stood out: serving on corporate boards. In 2021, she left the bank with a plan to become a director.
Ms. Vitug remembers sitting in her living room with a sheet of bristle board. She wrote down the names of everyone who might help, including former colleagues and clients. Then she started calling them. One by one, she set up meetings.
What followed was more than a year of lunches, dinners and chats. At each, she delivered her elevator pitch: why she wanted to serve, how she could contribute and what qualifications she brought to the table.
Seeking a board seat “became my new job,” she says. “I was very intentional about how I went about it.”
In 2023, she secured her first directorship at StorageVault Canada Inc. Today, Ms. Vitug sits on three public boards, including her first gig, Slate Grocery REIT and Nexus Industrial REIT.
“There’s real satisfaction in contributing to decisions that create sustainable value for the organization,” she says.
For many senior managers, board service can feel like the next logical step. The draw isn’t just prestige or compensation. Board work can sharpen strategic thinking, broaden professional networks and signal readiness for bigger roles such as chief executive officer.
But landing a board seat isn’t easy. It can take years to develop the experience and relationships that open doors.
“Some people, as they wind down their careers, think, ‘I’ll just sit on a board.’ That’s a fallacy,” says Jennifer Mondoux, CEO at MondouxRollins Partners Inc., an Ottawa-based executive search firm that helps private companies find board members.
Ms. Mondoux, who has worked in executive search for 18 years, says interest in board roles is rising, but many candidates underestimate the work required to get on a board’s radar.
“Be prepared for the long game,” she says.
The dos and don’ts of getting on a board
Experts say a good first step to becoming a director is serving on a non-profit board.
Long before her first corporate directorship, Ms. Vitug spent 10 years on the non-profit board of Women in Capital Markets (now known as VersaFi). She dealt with issues similar to those facing corporate boards. When she later interviewed for those roles, she could point to examples, including helping hire two CEOs and eight board members, contributing to strategy and the group’s rebranding.
People seeking a directorship should also learn how boards operate. One well-known option is the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program, an executive program that costs about $23,000. Experts say it’s an experience and investment that sends a strong signal that you’re serious about board work. University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management also offers shorter governance programs, as do business schools such as Western University’s Ivey. The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) also runs courses.
You also need to understand what directors don’t do. A common rookie mistake is acting too much like a manager. That’s not the job, says Cathy Logue, managing director at executive search firm Stanton Chase in Toronto.
“You’re there for oversight and foresight. It’s nose in, fingers out,” she says.
Ms. Logue says the best directors are inquisitive and ask incisive questions: “You’re there to help management see what’s coming.”
If you feel you’re ready to serve, take a page from Ms. Vitug and start tapping your network. Highlight your strategic thinking abilities and how your executive accomplishments translate to board service. What crises did you help solve? What do you excel at?
“Focus on building your board brand,” says Pam Laycock in Toronto, who serves on the boards of Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. and the advisory board of Strathmore Landscape Management, a private company.
Ms. Laycock refined her elevator pitch many times. It highlighted her 32 years at Torstar Corp., her work in digital transformation and her non-profit experience (she chairs Girl Guides of Canada). She also stressed the traits boards prize: her curiosity and ability to quickly grasp complex issues while asking tough questions in a ways that help management find solutions.
Understanding where you can add value will improve your chances of getting noticed, says Bob Armstrong, an ICD board member in Vancouver who serves on the board of Coast Capital Savings and Rocky Mountaineer.
“Don’t just say, ‘I want to serve on a board,’” Mr. Armstrong says.
Be specific about your capabilities, he adds. You might say your specialty is helping small, fast-growing companies expand into foreign markets and raise capital. Framing it this way makes you more memorable to recruiters.
You don’t necessarily need a traditional finance or CEO background, either. Boards often seek expertise in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. Others appreciate deep industry knowledge.
As for what directors earn, annual pay can reach $100,000 at privately held firms and average $120,000 for publicly traded small-cap firms, while directors at blue-chip companies earn upwards of $200,000, according to Laulima Consulting, which tracks Canadian board compensation.
Time commitment varies from a few hours a week to full-time when a company is dealing with major issues and needs board members to weigh in. Many boards, for example, met constantly during the pandemic. There’s also plenty of reading — from reports to keeping up to date on issues affecting the firm. For example, many directors are now trying to learn about AI.
Find the right company fit from the start
Given all the work it takes to get a board seat, make sure your first board is the right fit.
Do you have an easy rapport with the chair and directors? Does the firm’s work excite you? Do you think you can contribute meaningfully? If the answers are yes, it’s an encouraging sign.
And check for red flags: Has the company gone through a string of CEOs? Have board members fled? Those may be indications of trouble.
“I see people so focused on getting on a board, they don’t do their due diligence,” says Ms. Logue.
Tracy Primeau of Kincardine, Ont., serves on two nuclear industry boards: Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, yet her career arc is atypical of many directors. She started as an operator at the Pickering nuclear station in 1990, rising to shift manager at the Bruce A plants before retiring in 2021, when she joined OPG’s board. Ms. Primeau says her decades on the front lines of nuclear reactors give her a perspective few directors have.
Her advice to aspiring directors is to look for organizations doing work that interests you.
For Ms. Primeau, who’s Indigenous and sits on the University of Waterloo board, that includes reconciliation, young people and natural resources.
In her case, she says: “If the people who work for you wear hard hats and work boots, I’m interested in being on your board.”