Even though Aisha Dozie (MBA 2002) had served on the boards of several private and nonprofit organizations over her career, her two-year search for the directorship of a public board proved to be a “pretty tricky and convoluted” process. The founder and CEO of Bossy Beauty and former investment banker knew she was eminently qualified, yet such opportunities seemed to evade her. “Everybody wants somebody with previous public board experience or who has been a CEO or CFO at a publicly traded company,” she says.

In Dozie’s view, the issue is systemic and underscores the fact that, historically, there have been so few Black professionals in these positions. “How do you fix that problem of discovery when the board process is such an old boys’ network? It’s not the pipeline that’s the issue; it’s the opportunity.”

Aisha Dozie (MBA 2002)

Lexi Reese (MBA 2002)

Brad Gerstner (MBA 2000)

Guy Primus (MBA 2000)

Aisha Dozie (MBA 2002)

Lexi Reese (MBA 2002)

Brad Gerstner (MBA 2000)

Guy Primus (MBA 2000)

Dozie shared her goal with her professional networks, and that’s when her HBS classmate Lexi Reese (MBA 2002) pointed her in the direction of the Board Challenge, an initiative to increase board diversity, cofounded and catalyzed by HBS grads Brad Gerstner (MBA 2000), CEO of Altimeter Capital Management; Guy Primus (MBA 2000), CEO of Valence; Reese, at the time COO at Gusto; and Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, founder and chair of theBoardlist. Through the Board Challenge, Dozie quickly landed her first seat on a public board at Altimeter Growth Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Since launching in September 2020, the Board Challenge’s singular mission has been to increase the representation of Black directors on public and private corporate boards across the United States. In this way, the initiative is not unlike other efforts across the nation to build board diversity—except, perhaps, in its unique approach.

The Board Challenge asks that organizations pledge to add a Black director within 12 months, to share that commitment publicly, to encourage other company leaders and boards to make the same pledge, and most importantly, to fill the seat accordingly. It then provides participant organizations and companies with the relevant resources to locate highly qualified Black candidates. Companies that already have at least one Black director also are invited to signal their support by sharing and endorsing the challenge.

To date, 75 organizations have signed on, including NASDAQ, NYSE, Uber, United Airlines, Merck, and Starbucks. Of these, one-third did not yet have any Black directors and pledged to add at least one. A total of 17 companies—including Zillow, M.M. LaFleur, Bolster, and Quickbase—have fulfilled their commitment and added a total of 21 Black directors. Three companies—Bolster, Nextdoor and PagerDuty—have each added two Black directors. Yet these figures only tell half the story. Every meeting with C-suite executives, virtual event, and new media coverage further inspire a broad spectrum of stakeholders to make board diversity a priority.

“When we launched this, we wanted it to be a movement,” emphasizes Gerstner, who notes that the idea for the Board Challenge was sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Compelled to take meaningful action, Gerstner himself initially considered resigning from a public board and asking to be replaced by a Black director. But as he consulted with friends and colleagues, he quickly recognized the moment presented an opportunity for compelling and sustainable impact.

The Board Challenge cofounders deployed their vast expertise and significant networks to get the idea off the ground. “Boards tend to hire from their own circles of interest, and you end up with people on the board who look like you and who sound like you,” Gerstner acknowledges. “We wanted accountability. This is not a talent-pipeline problem. We know this in part because of HBS. We have extraordinary talent sitting on the sidelines, just waiting to go. But we have a problem connecting the talent to these opportunities.”

To address this, the initiative partners with two organizations that specialize in developing a diverse leadership ecosystem. Valence, founded by Primus, is a membership network of more than 20,000 top Black professionals and over 200 corporate clients that connects companies with current directors and a slate of board-ready candidates. Cassidy’s organization, theBoardlist, is a search firm specifically for women and diverse, board-ready candidates. Any company that makes the Board Challenge pledge is given a free slate of highly qualified candidates. This combined expertise and access to a deep pool of Black talent “absolutely refutes the mythical pipeline problem,” the cofounders say.

“If a company taking the challenge says there aren’t any viable Black candidates, we can say, ‘Yes, there are,’” notes Primus, who adds that one company “literally needed a rocket scientist, and we found one who is now on that board.”

Ultimately, the goal is to help leaders of companies understand that the Board Challenge is an opportunity. Increased regulation—ranging from legislation in 11 states to new rules debuted by NASDAQ for its listed companies—now requires many companies to add more varied representation to their boards. Key stakeholders, from investors to employees, are likewise paying much closer attention to boardroom composition. The movement is building momentum, with plenty of upsides for companies that rise to the challenge.

“Board diversity has moved from being nice to do, to a business imperative,” says Sheryl Tucker, executive director of the Board Challenge. “The research shows strong empirical evidence that diverse boards can lead to increased corporate performance. A diversity of thought, perspective, and experience makes better boards, and it’s the right thing to do.”

To help build the Board Challenge, Reese assisted in recruiting “an army of incredible volunteers," including leaders from her previous company, human resources platform Gusto. She is most proud of the fact that the initiative led to real action, rather than mere words, after the racist violence in the spring of 2020.

“Many companies in the United States were saying they stood with Black Lives,” making gestures to indicate they weren’t racist, says Reese. “What’s brilliant about the Board Challenge is that we are basically saying, ‘Put your money where your mouth is. We challenge you to take one step—it’s not the only step—but we’re challenging you to take the pledge and get a Black director on your board within the next year.’ It’s pretty simple and really important.”

On December 15, 2021, the Board Challenge cofounders gathered with pledge companies and supporters to celebrate a successful first year by ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ. They rang the opening bell at NYSE just three weeks later. Still, everyone knows the work is far from complete. “This is way bigger than I thought it would be,” says Gerstner. “We’ve had more impact than I thought we would have, but at the same time I’m sober in my realization that it’s nowhere close to enough. I think we’re humble in the face of this challenge. A lot of people are skeptical of a rich white guy coming to the rescue, and I very much didn’t want this to be about that. But at the same time that’s not an excuse to do nothing.”

Primus adds that because Gerstner is “in the room where it happens,” he can be an ally. “We need people in the room to say the lack of diversity is unacceptable.”

Reese says the next goal for the Board Challenge is to develop best practices for creating more diverse boards, as well as to improve the board experience for diverse directors. “It’s not just about getting someone at the table but also including them so that they feel safe, welcome, and valued, to participate fully in the conversation,” she says.

Honoring what they felt was a “George Floyd moment,” Primus says the Board Challenge dedicated its first year specifically to increasing the number of Black directors on US boards. But going forward, it will push for the full range of diversity. “The overall goal is to make sure that boardrooms really represent the population they serve, which is the American people,” he says. “We really want boardrooms—top to bottom—to look like America.”

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