Leveraging CIO experience into corporate board work
That
same
month,
Shurts
joined
his
first
private
board,
for
a
third-generation
family
import
and
distribution
business.
“Unlike
the
public
company
boards,
this
is
not
a
fiduciary
board
because
the
family
decides
what
to
do
with
the
money,”
he
says.
That
same
month,
Shurts
joined
his
first
private
board,
for
a
third-generation
family
import
and
distribution
business.
“Unlike
the
public
company
boards,
this
is
not
a
fiduciary
board
because
the
family
decides
what
to
do
with
the
money,”
he
says.
“But
other
than
that,
the
board
has
the
same
role
as
public
company
boards.”
Since
then,
Shurts
has
added
two
more
private
boards
to
his
plate,
which
he
enjoys
because,
“private
boards
can
be
more
fun
than
public
boards;
there
is
less
bureaucracy,”
he
says.
Advice
for
finding
a
board
seat
With
all
of
this
board
experience,
Shurts
can
offer
some
advice
to
CIOs
seeking
board
work.
First,
given
that
most
board
appointments
come
through
your
network,
“let
the
people
in
your
networks,
and
especially
people
who
are
on
boards,
know
of
your
intent,”
he
says.
“And
that
includes
the
board
of
your
current
company.”
But
before
you
start
calling
people,
decide
what
kind
of
board
you
want
to
join,
whether
public
or
private,
and
in
what
industry.
“I’ve
spent
almost
my
entire
career
in
food,
and
my
boards
are
either
food
distribution,
grocery,
or
logistics,”
he
says.
“I
don’t
know
if
I
could
have
joined
a
board
in
an
unrelated
industry.”
Also,
put
together
your
board
bio,
which
is
very
different
from
a
resume.
Rather
than
a
chronological
list
of
your
experiences,
your
board
bio
is
a
one-page
document
that,
in
a
just
a
few
paragraphs,
presents
a
strategic
view
of
your
experience.
Shurts
suggests
that
when
writing
your
board
bio
you
read
the
board
section
of
a
few
corporate
annual
reports.
These
typically
have
a
board
matrix
with
dots
next
to
the
expertise
areas
that
each
board
member
checks
off.
“You
will
never
get
a
board
position
if
the
only
box
you
can
check
is
technology
or
cyber,”
says
Shurts,
“Make
sure
your
board
bio
demonstrates
expertise
in
multiple
boxes,
like
finance,
supply
chain,
international
experience,
or
M&A.
The
broader
set
of
experiences
you
can
represent
in
your
bio,
the
better.”
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