Like most things in life - it depends on what an aspiring director wants. "Merely" being a director is insufficient an ambition to define how to become one. Here are a few contexts that should vary your strategy.


1. What do you want to become director of? If you "just" want to become a director, then target a company that nobody else wants to be part of, contact the chairman, introduce yourself and outline how you can help. Ask if he would support your nomination as director and be prepared to accept low director fees. Better still, find someone to recommend you to the chairman. However, you might find this ambition and strategy will get you into "difficult company." (pun intended) Furthermore, being associated with a "basket case board" may impede your ability to leverage your experience to bigger and better corporations - so be warned.

2. Do you want to become a director in a publicly listed company, a private company or an NFP? Each has different requirements. If you are chasing to be a director in a publicly listed company then, all other things being equal, you will need 1) to be able to demonstrate specific skills that will add value to the corporation, 2) you need a strong testimonial base, 3) a clean reputation, and 4) you need to be electable at an AGM. Each of these has dimensions and issues (and strategies) that are too numerous to elaborate on here.

If you have a target corporation in mind, and you know the fund manager of one of its significant institutional investors, go and have a chat and convince him/her of the value you can add to their investment by becoming a director of the target company. Ask him/her to sponsor your nomination to the board.

If you want to join a private corporation's Board, you need to either 1) know the key shareholder/s, or 2) know the chairman or one of the more powerful directors, or) be known to the corporation through work you have done for them (e.g. legal, accounting, consulting, technical, etc) and have that work regarded VERY highly by them, and that part of your skill being an ongoing requirement for the corporation.

Also, it helps in all of these instances if you know and get on well with the CEO.

If you are targeting an NFP, depending of course on the NFP and its status and prestige; you need a clean reputation, some demonstrated skills that will be of use to the NFP and a preparedness to work hard for many years for no financial return - but you may feel profoundly content with your achievements (that's your reward).

3. If you want a directorship/s because you crave wealth - there are better and less complex ways to make money.

4. If you want a directorship/s because you crave power - be warned. There is always someone out there bigger and meaner than you. Legal, regulatory and corporate guildines have a way of reining in those directors with delusions of grandeur.

Bottom line: be crystal clear about why you want to pursue a directorship path and what type of organisation you want to be director of. Go and speak to some directors / chairmen / CEOs of that/those types of organisations and ask their advice about how to "get into the game".