ecoDa's twentieth anniversary — governance trends and outlook from Ethics & Boards

ecoDa × Ethics & Boards · 20 Mar 2025

At the webinar marking ecoDa's twentieth anniversary, devoted to EU competitiveness and corporate governance, Constance d'Aspremont, our chief executive, offered a detailed analysis of two decades of governance trends, drawing on Eurozone 300 and Stoxx Europe 600 companies and benchmarking them against the S&P 100.

Among the main trends set out in the presentation:

- Women's representation on boards has advanced considerably in recent years, reaching an average of 40% at Europe's largest companies; they remain under-represented in leadership roles such as board chair or chief executive, at around 10%.

- European directors are younger than their American counterparts and serve shorter terms.

- Board remuneration has risen since 2019, reflecting changing expectations and accountability requirements.

- External board evaluation has grown significantly.

The webinar also brought together two panel discussions, on building a robust ecosystem for EU competitiveness and on the role of corporate governance in strengthening Europe's competitive advantage.

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