Adding digital expertise at the board level: enter the Digital Director--here is the kind of leader who may be right for your board and how you can attract that expert.

• Author: Hanson, Lee
• Position: HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES GOVERNANCE LETTER

JUST A LITTLE OVER five years ago, with the eruption of digital marketing and e-commerce, C-suites across corporate America reverberated with the cry: "We need a. digital expert!" The overriding concern was to bring someone on board as quickly as possible, stimulate internal conversation about digital, and build a capability around that person's competencies. Less attention went into defining the role, profiling the ideal candidate, or determining how digital marketing mattered for the organization than might have otherwise been desirable.

Now that same sense of urgency--and, often, that same lack of definition--has entered the boardroom. And with the demand for board-level digital expertise outstripping supply, the pressure is building to acquire it wherever it might be found: among heads of digital agencies, founders of social media companies, CMOs of e-commerce companies, founders of digital/ad tech companies, heads of digital media in traditional media companies, etc., with little thought given to precisely what the company needs or the bewildering range of domains that "digital" encompasses.

Meanwhile, many of these prospective Digital Directors harbor the same reservations they had earlier in their careers when they were being sought as the first digital gurus in companies with traditional business models: Why should I do this? What are the chances that the board of such a company will "get" digital? Where's the cutting-edge excitement that I'm accustomed to in my industry and company? Is this board the best use of my time?

Learning to dance with digital

In even the most familiar board recruiting situations, the dance between the board and a prospective candidate is a delicate one. But in this case, with the greatly increased possibility of misunderstanding and mutual incomprehension, the possibility of missteps and mistakes grows exponentially. To avoid those missteps and acquire the digital expertise few companies can afford to do without, boards can do the following:

* Be clear about what kind of digital leader you should consider. It's not only critical to know which segment of the digital world you should look to for expertise, but also what specific business skills and leadership qualities you are looking for in a digital leader. Do you need an entrepreneur, perhaps someone who can bring a greater appetite for risk to the company or who can provide invaluable insight as your company embarks on bold new ventures or businesses? On...