Spencer Stuart Chair champions diversity

Sir John Parker, Chair of the Spencer Stuart advisory council, is an unlikely champion of diversity.

His battle first started when, as Chairman of Anglo American, he had to chastise the incumbent Board for attacks on the company’s first female CEO.

Now, as a founding member of the 30% Club, which campaigned for better gender balance in business, and after completing a government report into ethnic diversity in the Boardroom, Parker is a steely advocate for proper diversity.

The reasons for this are mixed but, speaking to the Financial Times, Parker explains that a mix of skills and backgrounds on the Board is a “real bulwark against the destruction of shareholder value.” He believes that less mistakes will be made because in diverse groups because the varied viewpoints will allow a greater and broader insight. This means “someone is going to ask the unthinkable question” that nobody else on the team thought of, preventing problems further down the road.